The Heir of the Warrior Book I: A World in Turmoil
by MadnessPersonified
Summary: AU, sequel to my Heart of the Warrior Series. A world twenty years after Voldemort still is plagued with evil and a new heroine rises up, fighting for both her famous father and carving her own legacy separate from him.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One: The Birth of the Shadow Phantom Part One:**

_June 20__th__ 2015:_

Harry Potter felt he was getting way too old to play the hero, not that it mattered in these people. Up until three years ago, he had a very lucrative career as a professional Quidditch career. He had a lot of fun but sadly it was cut short due to a multitude of injuries. Both Harry and his wife Ginny had agreed that it would be a good idea if Harry quit before he got a really serious injury that he would not be able to get back from as easily. He instead got a job as the magical liaison to the Muggle United States Government. Sure his boss was an utter jerk, but his daughter, Grace, had an ailment that required expensive potions to be made regularly to treat it. So it was worth it, even though he had to regularly deal with an enemy from the past.

"Mr. Potter, I do apologize for the short notice, but time for warning is not a luxury we have," said a shady looking figure wearing a long black coat and sunglasses. "This is a matter of national security."

"What is it, Agent Bishop?" asked Harry as he looked at the man, who Harry always felt uneasy around. Perhaps it was the time that he had captured Harry and his brothers, before Bishop attempted to dissect Harry's brothers, or perhaps it was the time he faked an alien invasion to lead to a plague that infected the entire city of New York, including his second oldest brother, Donatello. Whatever it was, the fact was that Harry would never turn his back on Bishop when he was in his presence.

"A top secret government shipment has been stolen, the only item on board was a sonic drill, that could level an entire city block into dust," said Bishop casually, as if this was of no concern. The look behind his sunglasses told a different story.

"An interesting toy, Bishop," muttered Harry, who questioned the wisdom of inventing such an item and the disaster that it could cause once it fell into the wrong hands.

"It was intended to be used on any alien invasions, you know the latest invasion of two years ago devastated us all and if we had such a weapon, we would have had no need to lose so many men on either side," said Bishop calmly and Harry nodded, the alien invasions were getting out of hand. While he had hoped Bishop had abandoned his super solider program, there was circumstantial evidence that stated that his old enemy had resumed his old activities. Still, Harry had not pressed the issue, as he had stopped cleaning up everyone's messes once he was finished with Voldemort all those years ago.

For the most part that was. There were times where he kept getting pulled in against his will, like today for instance.

"What do you want with me?" asked Harry.

"I want you to assist us in recovering the drill, your skills have matched my own in the past and I feel these thieves would have no chance against you," said Bishop calmly and Harry shook his head.

"No, Bishop, I've given up this game once Voldemort was reduced to dust, the world existed without my help for millennia in the past, it will exist without me now," said Harry firmly and besides, his body might not hold up in combat after all of these years.

"Mr. Potter, I understand your conviction, but the point is, the world may end if you do not help, especially if the mastermind behind this is who I think it was," said Bishop coolly, but there were only the slightest hints of worry underneath his sunglasses. "It was a mistake to even try, but we have the perfect chance to correct this mistake before it's too late."

Harry paused and looked at Bishop with an incredulous look appearing in his eyes.

"What did you do this time?" demanded Harry, as last time Bishop messed up, the entire city was put in peril, with the outbreak plague.

"I'll explain to you later, on the off chance that I'm wrong and for the world's sake I hope I am," said Bishop evasively and Harry knew that he would not get any answers, but he had to help. Reluctantly, it had been several years since he had truthfully done something like this, but if it was that important, he had to help.

"Very well, Bishop, but I hope for your sake, the situation is not as grave as you made it out to be for your sake," said Harry as he held his wand steady and Bishop nodded.

"That makes two of us, Mr. Potter," said Bishop, as he turned around, before he checked his wrist communicator. "Doctor Stockman has already transmitted the security specifications of where we believe the thieves are headed. My men are in position to move in as well."

"It's just as well Agent Bishop, because I've brought back up as well," said Harry as he moved back, to reveal his brothers, Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, and Michelangelo to step out of the shadows. They were your average run of the mill family, except for the fact that they were ninjas and they were giant mutant Turtles. Other than that small detail, they were perfectly normal.

"Gentlemen it appears that we find ourselves on the same side against a great threat," replied Bishop.

"What makes you think that these thieves aren't your common everyday street gang?" asked Leo.

"Because, the methods they used to hijack the train were very sophisticated, a mixture of attacks that were both magical and non-magical," said Bishop smoothly. "We are dealing with a dangerous threat, we must recover the sonic drill before he puts it to a destructive use."

"Just show me who to hit and I'm game for anything," said Raph as he held his Sais at the ready, before they moved down the street. Bishop and his commandos appeared to lead Harry and the Turtles towards an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of town. They were very close to the gravesite where Master Splinter was buried. Harry tried to shake his head of those horrid memories of the night that Voldemort struck down his adoptive father in battle and he could see that his brothers were relieving similar memories. Still they had a task that they had to accomplish, the past could not get in the way.

"Let's move forward, the security precautions are not going to be easily to get around and time is not a luxury we have," said Bishop quietly, as he stared at the building behind his sunglasses, as his men awaited their orders.

"I think I can see it, you can almost feel some odd vibrations coming from on the other side of the door and I'm barely touching it," said Don. "It's very strange; I've never seen something like that before in my life."

"It's the bad kind of strange, right," chimed in Mikey and Don nodded. "Though so, we better step back and let a professional take a crack at this one."

"Stand back, if I'm reading this correctly, there are a multitude of magical defenses around this place, intermingled with Muggle technology," said Harry as he raised his eyebrow. Such a combination was rare and odd, even beyond some of the things that he had faced. "Advanced beyond anything I've ever seen but not that difficult to shut down."

"How much time do you think it will take to disable it all?" inquired Agent Bishop.

"Actually, if we time this right, no time at all, just a simple disabling charm to get us through the front door and then be ready to blast at anyone or anything that comes through," said Harry before he paused with a thoughtful look, before he motioned for everyone to stand back. "In case I'm wrong, everyone get far back, I'm the only one of us that can do a shield charm and the blast might be painful. "

Everyone obeyed as Harry raised his wand before he jabbed it towards the door. It clicked open and much to their surprise, there were no traps, at least visible ones. At the moment, Harry moved forward, with everyone else following him. The others took cautious steps instead, before they all reached inside.

"There it is Agent Bishop, the sonic drill," said one of the commandos, as the group moved forward.

"I don't like this, it seems way too easy," said Mikey in a worried voice as he looked around from side to side.

"He's right, stay alert, this could be a well constructed trap, they might not even want the drill," said Bishop, who knew he had his fair share of enemies and at that moment, a set of silvery grenades were thrown into the warehouse. Everyone scattered, as the grenades exploded and a cloud of smoke rose up. From the rafters, an army of cloaked individuals dropped down with wands at the ready.

"Everyone surrender and you may live long enough to see our master's grand triumph," said one of the cloaked figures, as it could be seen once the smoke cleared that their faces "Drop the weapons or we'll make you drop them."

"Pick your shots wisely men, aim for their wands," said Agent Bishop, as his commandos did as they were told and aimed their weapons towards the mysterious cloaked figures. However, much to their astonishment, the commandos found themselves disarmed in a matter of moments when the sides of the wand were pressed and thick metal cables shot out, to wrap around the weapons. They were quickly pulled from the hands of Bishop's commandos but by this time, the Turtles and Harry had already snuck around on the other side.

Quickly, one of the figures spun around and erected a shield with his wand, which blocked Leo's katanas. Another blast had caused Mikey's nunchucks to spin out of control when he attempted to whack them at him. Raph had taken the direct approach, as he leapt at his attacker and managed to knock him off of his feet, but he rebounded to blast a pair of metal shackles towards his feet. Don moved forward and busted the shackles with his Bo staff before it was split it half by a blast. Harry meanwhile had just avoided what appeared to be a stunning spell directed towards him. He could not figure out what exactly these wands were, he had never seen anything like them in his life. He briefly wondered if they were really advanced technology to simulate magic, but doubted that anything of this Earthly origin would be able to properly mimic such a thing like magic. Still given all of the alien technology lying around after the many invasions, he did wonder.

"Be careful, these things pack a punch!" shouted Leo, as one of his blades had been blown off by an expert shot from one of the faux wands. Quickly, Raph threw his Sais upwards and cut a net from above to trap several of the cloaked figures. Bishop and his commandos had reclaimed their weapons and had sent stun blasts to subdue them before they could recover. Bishop rushed in and punched a fighter that had dropped his wand in the battle.

"Their numbers are dwindling, be on the look out, this is too easy," said Bishop as Harry managed to disarm one of his attackers and flip him over onto his back. Harry just barely avoided a stunning spell, before he disarmed another attacker and then the arms and legs snapped together.

"Easy, you call this easy!" shouted Raph as he threw his Sai at an attacker to distract him while Mikey came from behind and whacked the figure in the back of the head with a pair of nunchucks.

"Yes, these guys don't go down easily," grunted Mikey, as his nunchucks were blasted to bits with a Reducto spell but quickly, Harry jabbed his wand at the legs of the attacker. A loud crack echoed throughout the building as both of the enemies legs cracked together.

"Right, this could be just the preliminary attacks," said Don as he dodged an attack, before he knocked a set of crates onto two of the attackers. One blasted the assault away but the other was not quite lucky. Quickly, Harry managed to bind the attacker's legs and arms together with thick ropes, as the other attackers had already been taken out.

"Leave this one awake, let's see what he knows," commanded Agent Bishop, as he pulled back the hood, to reveal a young brown haired man who was in his late teens or maybe early twenties. Harry looked at him with contempt, it was sickening one someone had once again thrown away his life for a little bit of power. "You can do this the easy way or the hard way, tell me who you are working for or we'll find more painful ways of making you talk."

"You'll never get me to squeal on the master, he is more powerful, he has an entire army of followers that will die for him, I'd rather die than betray him, he's worked too hard," said the thug in a smug voice as he spat at Bishop. Bishop just calmly wiped the fluid off of his cheek, but Harry stepped forward and grabbed the thug by the throat, before he threw him across the room. The thug crashed through a table and rolled around, wincing in agony.

"Talk! Who is your boss?" demanded Harry, as the thug winced, at his broken ribs. The thug had opened his mouth for some smart retort, but Harry had silenced him with a mere glare. "Now I can injure and heal you as many times as I wish, you better talk."

"Fine, I don't know his name, I just know he's powerful, I've heard him called "X", that's all I know, really, he has people all over the city and in most of New Jersey," said the young man as he cringed at the intense look in Harry's eyes, but he had removed a knife from beneath his sleeve. "The sonic drill, it was a bigger part of a grander scheme, it's just the beginning, I don't know of anything else but it's not the only thing "X" is after."

"He's telling the truth Agent Bishop," confirmed Harry, after he looked into the eyes and quickly looked away.

"Very well, the Sonic Drill has been at least kept out of the hands of this dangerous threat," said Bishop in an absent minded voice, but at that point, the captured attacker had managed to cut himself free. His ribs might have been injured, but he removed a remote control device from his pocket and pressed a giant red square button in the center. At that point, the walls of the warehouse vibrated.

"EVERYONE MOVE OUT OF THE WAY!" shouted Harry urgently, but several lasers began to shoot out of the wands at random intervals, as everyone had to duck and dodge. Bishop looked on as one of the lasers had shot off of the side of the table where the sonic drill was held.

"If that laser hits the drill, the backlash will vaporize at least this entire building, if not the next three blocks," said Bishop, as he motioned for his men to move in. From the other side, Harry and the Turtles dodged around the attacks. Several laser blasts impacted the ground and quickly Harry just managed to launch himself up. He saw a spot in the wall where the laser had fired up and it was aimed right at the drill.

"Don and Raph, catch!" shouted Harry, as he threw the box with the sonic drill just before the laser had hit the table. He just barely leapt off but the table had tipped over and Harry was sent onto his back. He looked up as the laser had sliced a chain that held a large platinum weight from above. In the past, Harry would have been quick enough to block it but right now he could not avoid the weight as it smashed down right onto his legs. He could feel them snap down underneath the weight.

"HARRY!" shouted all four of his brothers in unison, as Bishop motioned for his commandos to take the drill.

"You four get that thing off of him, I will try to find the control panel to shut off the laser grid," said Bishop firmly as he moved over, expertly dodging the laser.

"Can't you levitate it off with your wand or something Harry?" asked Mikey anxiously.

"Mikey, it's platinum, magic has no effect on it!" snapped Don slightly.

"Whoa, Don easy, he obviously forgot," said Leo.

"Just like you forgot to be in position to help Harry be out of the way when he fell?" asked Raph, as he grabbed the platinum weight.

"What, Don was closer?" argued Leo in a tense voice, but nevertheless he grabbed the weight.

"Don't look at me, I was helping Raph catch the drill, Mikey should have gotten him," said Don in an agitated voice, as they continued to struggle to grip the weight but their attention was diverted.

"Yeah, I had to pick up that slack after you nearly dropped it," said Raph in a snippy voice.

"Look won't all of you just please shut up and help me lift it, would it kill you all to pull your weight on this team?" demanded Leo.

"Look, I don't know what's gotten under your shell, but you better knock it off, Leo," said Mikey in an agitated voice, as they had just managed to grab the weight.

"Oh, I see for once you're finally taking things seriously Michelangelo?" challenged Leo, as all four of the brothers had now managed to slide the huge weight off of Harry's legs.

"Gentlemen and given the way you act, I use the term utmost loosely, I have deactivated the grid and I believe that it would be prudent to get your brother some medical attention immediately," said Bishop.

"Back off Bishop, this doesn't concern you!" shouted Raph. "If Leo wasn't being such a jackass, we wouldn't be in the position we were in right now. If that weight had landed on Harry's head, he would have just ended up like Master Splinter."

"Oh, and I suppose that's my fault too!" yelled Leo in a defensive voice as he stared down Raph, as it was fortunate they had been disarmed of their weapons in the battle, it could have been a lot more uglier. Don and Mikey also looked agitated, as Harry laid on the floor in pain. Bishop pointed his wrist blaster and shot it on the floor, to get the attention of the four reptiles.

"Gentlemen, enough," said Bishop in a dangerous voice. "I have already called for medical attention, a message has also been sent to the relevant parties to inform them of Mr. Potter's condition."

"Right, we have to worry about Harry right now, instead of who's fault it is," said Mikey in a logical voice and the other three nodded grudgingly, as they cast dirty looks at each other but the serious injury that Harry had just kept them together as a family, but by the absolute barest of threads.

-

Ginny rushed inside the hospital, when her husband told her he got a message from Agent Bishop earlier today, she thought he would be coerced into doing something that he would regret later by the government agent. True, enough, when she had received a message that said Harry had been wounded in a battle, her fears had come true. She had always been uncomfortable with Harry's work with Agent Bishop, but it was more than sufficient to pay for the expensive treatments their daughter Grace had required for her condition. He had already spent every knut of his share of the Potter Family fortune and everything he earned from his Professional Quidditch Career, but they were no closer to finding a permanent solution for Grace's ailment.

At that point, Ginny's mother-in-law, Lily poked her head out the door, her auburn hair with the slightest hints of grey, and she motioned for Ginny to come inside.

"Hi, Lily, how's Harry doing?" asked Ginny in a concerned voice.

"Better than I would expect, had that thing came out at a different angle or it was heavier, he would have lost the ability to walk," said Lily as Ginny sighed in relief, at least it could have been worse. With a sick daughter, she had more than enough to worry about without Harry being seriously injured but it appeared Lily was not done giving her the latest on Harry's condition. "While I did manage to patch up most of the damage and Harry will be able to walk again, he'll still feel pain in certain circumstances. Other than that, he'll make a full recovery."

"May I see him?" asked Ginny and Lily nodded, before she stepped back and allowed Ginny to enter the room. She walked inside, she had seen Harry go down so many times in the past, but it's been a long time since she had, many years in fact. She moved in and saw Harry, who looked pleased to see her. "Hi, Harry."

"Hello, Ginny, how are you holding up?" asked Harry as his wife sat down next to him on the edge of the bed and she bent down, giving him a quick kiss, as he was incapacitated from his injuries, before she withdrew the gesture.

"Considering you're the one that just had a weight dropped on your legs, I should be the one asking you how you're doing," said Ginny with a grin, who realized that no matter what, Harry would put everyone before himself. "I got the message and tried to get here as soon as I can. I had to take Grace over to Neville and Hailey's. While, she seems to be reacting well to that new potion, it's stabilizing her magic really well, I don't want to take any chances."

"It's for the best, after her last outburst, that was painful to get under control," replied Harry as Ginny nodded. "You do realize that this does have a chance to turn her into a squib."

"Yes, I realize that, but I don't care," said Ginny firmly. "She's our daughter, anything that we can do to save her life we have to do, even if it sacrifices her magic."

"We're on the same wavelength there, as always," answered Harry with a slightly strained smile, as he thought about the childhood or lack there of his daughter had, do to spending most of it sick. This potion could be the one to cure her ailment, at least temporarily. He had gotten a lot of snide comments from the Chief Executer Officer of the American Wizarding Government, Alistair Montague, who said it must be a disgrace for such an old pureblood family to have such an ill child and suggested they should have Grace locked up, where she was not a threat. He could not believe that someone could be so callous towards an innocent child, but then again, given what he had seen and experienced in the past, he would be a fool to be surprised. "I should be back on my feet, not in my same capacity, but at least one thing good comes out of this."

"What Harry?" asked Ginny in confusion.

"I know never to bother with anything ever again; I stuck my neck out again and paid for it, would Bishop do the same for me? I doubt it very much," said Harry, who also thought of the tension between his brothers, that had caused them to go their separate ways, perhaps for good and he blamed Bishop for putting him in this situation. Everything was just barely held together after the death of Master Splinter but now it just cracked apart at the seems. "This just proved that I was right after Voldemort, I should have never played the hero again. Hell, I'm not even sure if this world deserves heroes anymore."

Ginny just sat their, holding her husband's hand. While instinctively she wanted to agree, the fact was that she had to admit that Harry was right. Once Wizarding Britain was rebuilt, everyone had just fallen right back into their old habits, having learned nothing from Voldemort. Those who had lived through Voldemort and saw everything that lead up to his uprising happening again had wisely fled to other countries, namely the United States and Canada. Sadly, those countries were not without their problems, as while there were flaws before, it seemed they had amplified with time.

-

_September 8__th__ 2020: _

"Grace!" shouted Ginny up the stairs as Harry sat at the table. "Breakfast is ready!"

"Coming Mum!" called Grace from down the stairs. "I'll be ready in a couple of minutes."

"In other words, she'll be down in about ten or fifteen minutes," said Harry, who knew his daughter's ability to procrastinate for the littlest thing all too well. Sure enough, a bit of time later, more than a couple of minutes, Grace made way down the stairs. She was a miniature version of her mother, with flaming red hair and freckles. The only difference was that she had her father's vivid emerald green eyes. "Ah yes, within ten minutes, right on schedule for you, Grace."

"Daddy, I'm not that bad," said Grace incredulously, as the fifteen year old girl looked at her father, but she had a smile on her face nevertheless. "I had to get my hair right, but I don't know if it is."

"Ah, the Potter hair, it never straightens properly," said Harry as while his daughter's hair was nowhere near as unruly as his was, it still stuck up slightly in places, unless she tied it back in a ponytail to keep it tamed enough.

"Yes, but that's the one thing I like about you, Harry," said Ginny as she flicked her fingers through Harry's hair.

"Could you two wait until I get to school before you do that?" asked Grace in a slightly irritated voice, while she was pleased that her parents loved each other very much, the fact remained that she did not have to see that.

"Now, Grace, just wait until you get married and have children," said Harry but Grace just shrugged. After the break up she had with her last boyfriend, she was not too thrilled about the prospect of every dating again, it was a bad experience for her. He was way too clingy and jealous, every time he had even seen her look in the direction of another boy, he flew off the handle. She was blinded because he was an older, hot guy, but after a while, she saw him as he truthfully was, a hot headed pumped up jock with a short fuse.

Grace sat down with her parents and reflected on her life. The early part of her childhood had been spent in sickness, with one magical treatment after another, as a mysterious illness that had overcharged her magic had plagued her. Both of her parents were there for her every step of the way, her father especially. While had had to be out of town for his Quidditch Games, he Portkeyed home straight away to be by her side when she had one of her episodes and they were often. Far too often her liking.

Then everything changed five years ago, where a new potion was developed. It would suppress her magic and reduce her to a squib, but the fits of chaotic accidental magic would cease. Despite the fact that all her cousins got a magical education but she felt it was a fair trade off. Her body was racked with pain for days afterward and it seemed to get worse every time. Given what she learned about magic, they would only get worse with time. So, her parents enrolled her in a Muggle High School, mostly to keep her mind off of everything. Grace did not really mind, while she had no real close friends, she got along with everyone with a few notable exceptions. Still, it was not all too bad and her cousin Rosaline Longbottom, had kept her updated regularly on all the latest in the Wizarding World that she heard during her studies at the Liberty School of Magic.

She looked at her father. He had sacrificed his entire family fortune to save her life and had only just recently began to rebuild it through a respectable level through a series of businesses that had had partial ownership in with her Uncles Fred and George. In fact, he had been severely injured doing a job to earn gold to pay for a treatment for her, one of the last before this new potion was invented.

Grace knew her father had done so much in his life and no one had ever repaid him. She saw his face when he heard of crime in the cities, frustrated that he was physically unable to do anything, as one more serious injury could his end. It was thanks to both of her parents that she lived a relatively normal life after so many years of being sick and if everything had gone right, she would do something to make up for everything.

-

Grace made her way to school, ignoring the sound of a car alarm that went off. As much as she hated to admit it, she was used to the various alarms that went off, it was as common as the birds chirping in the morning. It was not even like the cops did anything, many of them were on the take or that's at least what her father said. She was trained in ninjitsu when she began to get a little better and while she was nowhere near her father's level, she could defend herself. It was almost like a requirement in this city, but she wanted to do more to herself. She hoped that the project that she worked on with her cousin on and off over the summer would be completed today as scheduled.

"Let's get while the getting is good, man!" shouted a loud rough voice and Grace looked up, to see a pair of thugs, one with a green Mohawk and another bald, as they moved down the street, with bags of money in their hand and a stressed out looking shopkeeper chasing after them. Barely anyone paid them any mind; it was business as usual for the citizens of New York City. After the thieves had disappeared from view, a police car moved down the street, too little too late.

-

The first day of school for this year was business as usual. It was said that it was much less stressful to go into politics, than to attend high school and Grace would be hard pressed to disagree. She made her way to the school and winced as she saw a very unfamiliar face. A dark haired girl with hazel eyes and her nose turned up in arrogance sat outside the school. Most schools had their resident bitch that thought she was something special and well they all paled in comparison with Andrea Radcliffe. Even most of the normal "in-crowd" had steered away from her, she seemed too arrogant by their standards. The fact that she was one of the smartest girls in the school, just barely below Grace, did little to help deflate her ego.

"Well Potter, I see you've gone through the first day without collapsing," said Andrea with a smug expression on her face as she looked at Grace. She was referring the incident where Grace had collapsed last year, the potion she had to take had a very bad reaction with strawberry ice cream.

"No thanks for your concern, but I wasn't feeling ill, Andrea, that was until I caught sight of your smug face," replied Grace.

"Mind yourself, Potter, I'm better than you'd ever think of being and soon enough, you're be exposed as the fraud that you are," answered Andrea, as she flipped her long hair over, with a smug look on her face. "I have better things to do than to stand around and talk to someone as lowly as you, I have a date."

"Wow, someone must be desperate or you lowered your asking price," said Grace with a smile and Andrea's posture stiffened. The Potter girl knew she had achieved a moral victory, even if it was slightly underhanded. Andrea obviously was not going to do anything, she might be afraid that she would break a nail. Yet, it was intriguing how every time Andrea had a date, she seemed to go out of her way to tell Grace about it.

Still, while other people lived in their own little social status influenced worlds, Grace had more pressing matters to attend to.

-

"I think I've put every protective charm I can think of on this armor that won't interfere with it's computer processing," said Rosaline Longbottom as she had brought it out, at one of Grace's father's less populated factories on the edge of town. Rosaline was a couple of months older than Grace, with light brown hair and the same vivid emerald green eyes that Grace, her father, Rosaline's mother, and their grandmother had. "Now, it will cover your own body, including your face, but nothing is fool proof. I don't know if it's a good idea for you to do this given…"

"I know, my condition was a concern, but the potions that I take offset that and I'm actually at my strongest, now's the perfect time to do this, no one else will," answered Grace. "The world needs heroes, no matter how much they don't appreciate them."

"If you say so, but after what happened to Uncle Harry, do you really think it's a good idea to take the risk?" asked Rosaline in a skeptical voice.

"This is exactly the reason I'm doing this, for him," answered Grace firmly. "You agreed to help me with this, don't tell me you're having second thoughts."

"No just a few concerns, the crime rate is highest it's been in years," answered Rosaline. "Still if you feel like you have to do this…"

"I have to do this," said Grace firmly.

"Then, I'm with you one hundred percent," said Rosaline. "You're going to need an alias obviously because I think you can see why it won't be a good idea to go under your real name."

"Yes, Mum and Dad have enough enemies as it is without me gaining them through anything I do," said Grace as she looked on, with a thoughtful expression etched on her face. "The Shadow Phantom will be the guardian of New York."

"The Shadow Phantom?" asked Rosaline in an amused tone of voice. "What possessed you to come up with that?"

"We all have our inspirations," answered Grace as she had gotten the Shadow part from her father's codename when he had gathered information on the criminal underworld and the Phantom part from the Black Phantom, a mysterious vigilante that had worked in New York City in the mid 1990s that Grace had considered somewhat of a hero to her. She had gotten her hands on whatever old newspaper clippings she could that detailed the exploits of her idol.

Grace had decided to suit up to give the armor a test run. As long as she was home by seven for dinner, her parents had never asked too many questions of what she was up to, as they had trusted her completely.

-

A couple of thugs moved towards the back of a jewelry store. In this city, it was easy to pull a job in broad daylight. As long as a cut of the profits went to the mysterious underworld figure known as "X", he would pull enough strings to get the law enforcement to look the other way. Of course, if the thugs were inept enough to get themselves caught, then they were on their own.

"This is going to be like taking candy from a baby," remarked one of the thugs in a self assured voice.

"Yes, diamond candy," cackled the second thug, as he pulled out a crowbar before he began to pry the door open. Sometime's the tried and tested methods were the best. As they entered the jewelry store, a young lady sat behind the glass case.

"May I help you?" asked the lady in a bored voice but she found herself on the business end of a gun.

"Yeah, toots, just let us pick out the selection of our choosing and we won't blow your brains out," said the thug with the gun, as his partner had began to shove a large quantity of diamonds in a blue duffel bag. "That's it, keep your hands where we can see them, don't trip an alarm or anything."

"You won't get away with this!" shouted the clerk but she was terrified beyond all belief especially when the thugs laughed.

"Yeah, who's going to stop us," said the thug with the gun. "And whoever says crime doesn't pay obviously hasn't been to New York City."

Both of the thugs laughed as they boldly left the jewelry store through the front door. The moment they passed, the clerk had activated the alarm, not that it mattered. The thugs rushed down the street.

From above, Grace sat perched. It was getting late and she thought she would have to give this up as the one night that the criminals decided to take off. At that moment, she saw that two thieves rushed from a jewelry store, as an alarm rang.

"Showtime," said Grace in a triumphant voice as she dropped down right in front of the thieves, who were caught off guard.

"Out of the way, can't you see we're on a job!" yelled one of the thieves.

"Yeah, I can see that, not to mention that you boys obvious took something that wasn't yours," said Grace as the thieves looked at her.

"Move it now, you foolish meddlesome brat," said one of the thieves as all they saw was petite figure with green and black full body armor, with a black helmet pulled over her head to obscure her identity.

"Let's just waste her," answered the second thief as he removed his gun.

"And add attempted murder to the list of crimes you've done tonight, well done, you just did nothing to help your case," said Grace, as she waited for the thieves to make the first move.

"There won't be any attempt, bitch," said the first thief as they began to blast Grace with a steady stream of bullets, but each and every one of them had bounced off her armor. In an instant, she somersaulted in mid air and came from behind the thieves. They turned around and two amplified punches cracked them in the jaws. They dropped to the ground and their guns were kicked to the side. Quickly, Grace lifted her arm and a net shot from it, to wrap around the thieves. The material was so tight that they only had enough room to breath and seconds later, they were strung up to the light post.

"You better let us down from here," demanded the second thief but he could only make threats.

"Just who do you think you are anyway?" inquired the first thief.

"Tell all your little criminal friends that the Shadow Phantom is always watching, so they better toe the line of the line of the law," proclaimed Grace and seconds later, the thieves looked perplexed, as she disappeared from view. She loved the cloaking feature on this armor. It was one of her better ideas.

In the shop the clerk waited in fear, shaken from her encounter with the thieves but suddenly, the duffel bag of diamonds dropped. She looked up but saw nothing.

"I believe these are yours," said a voice from above as the clerk looked around wildly for the source of the voice. "I'd invest better locks or maybe a couple of Dobermans, if I were you. I think it's safe to say that it's a necessary security precaution."

Without a word, the source of the voice had disappeared just as quickly as it appeared.

-

In the middle part of October, a man in his early twenties with brown hair and a goatee stepped forward. He was the head of scientific research and development, along with being basically the second in command, for one of the time crime lords in New York City but even he was nervous at this. The man's name was Michael Jammerhead, a brilliant scientist who specialized in robotics. He bowed down before his boss, who stood in the shadows.

"Speak," said "X" from the shadows in a cold voice, as only his right hand was visible, with a slight glint of silver.

"Master, I've got bad news, profits are down and so is the crime in the city, more of our thugs are getting caught and brought to justice," said Jammerhead in a fretful voice.

"So they've gotten sloppy, I fail to see where this has any relevance," said "X" softly.

"It's not mere sloppiness, many are getting captured and quite a few others have taken a step back, thanks to this Shadow Phantom that's plaguing the criminal underworld," said Jammerhead. "My Lord, I feel she might be a threat to what you hope to accomplish, she's bound to trace everything back to you."

"Yes, I can see it, I've heard the rumors and given time to tackle this problem, she is getting dangerously close to my operations," answered "X" coolly from the shadows.

"I've been working on a project, a super powerful robot, a cyberdroid rather, that may be powerful enough to stop this Shadow Phantom," offered Jammerhead.

"We must save that trump card for when it matters, not for some vigilante hero. Right now I will summon my Techo-Mages. They will eradicate this Shadow Phantom, her broken body will be thrown at my feet," thundered "X" wickedly as he lifted his hand and pointed a wand in the distance. A loud bang echoed and a figure with wild hair entered, with a pet gecko in hand. Despite his unruly appearance, he was rather capable of what he did, one of the top Techo-Mages that "X" employed.

"Master, you like summoned me," said the figure.

"I did, Mondo, I want you to round up any available Techo-Mages and eliminate a thorn in my side," said "X". "I trust you've heard the rumors of the Shadow Phantom."

"I did, she has everyone afraid to commit crimes and no one is sure where she'll turn up to take them out," answered Mondo.

"She cannot continue to interfere in my plans, I want the Shadow Phantom annihilated no matter what!" ordered "X" firmly and Mondo nodded, before he turned and walked out to gather a few able bodies. With the Techo-Mages on the case, the Shadow Phantom did not stand a chance. Their combination of magic and technology had made them a ruthless force that not even Harry Potter at the height of his magical power would even be able to defeat them.

This Shadow Phantom would be at his feet by nightfall and that was certain.


	2. Chapter 2: Birth of the Shadow Phantom 2

**Chapter Two: The Birth of the Shadow Phantom Part Two:**

Grace ran the rooftops of New York City in good spirits in her Shadow Phantom armor. The last couple of months had been among the greatest and most productive in her life. She had stopped many crimes in progress and the rate of crime had slowed down. While it would never stop in a city like New York, if more than a few criminals thought twice about their chosen careers, it would take steps to achieving her long term goal. She did not do it because it was easy but rather because it was necessary. Still the fact that more than a handful was backing off proved to be well.

A loud alarm echoed from above, as a ski masked thug had loudly thrown a brick through the window.

"It seems like the only criminals left are the dumb ones," muttered Grace to herself as she shook her head before she dropped down. Little did she know that the ski masked thug had a cell phone in his hand.

"That should have gotten her attention, Mondo," said the thug into the phone.

"Excellent, dude, "X" will reward you handsomely for your part in this, just keep her busy for two minutes," said the pleased voice of the lead Techno-Mage over the phone.

"Two minutes, no problem, she landed me in jail before, I have a hash to settle with her anyway, maybe I'll soften her up a bit," said the thug but he turned around as the Shadow Phantom dropped in front of the thug.

"Now, perhaps you should take a deep breath and tell me what you did wrong?" asked the Shadow Phantom as she looked at the thug from behind the helmet who balled up his fist.

"The fact that you're still breathing seems to be a good start," said the thug gruffly as he swung at the Shadow Phantom but she dodged the attack, before she grabbed the thief and twisted his arm. The thief dropped to his knees, before he sprung up and threw a rock at her. The rock had bounced off her armor but the thief had already bolted in the other direction.

"Really, let's not make this too easy," said the Shadow Phantom as she bent her knees before she sprung up into the air. The propulsion feature of the armor allowed her good length as she landed right in front of the thug. She had just staggered slightly, the first time she tried it, she lost her balance completely. Quickly, the thug backed off and the Shadow Phantom grabbed him by the arm and flipped him over to the ground. Seconds later, a metal ring snapped the thug's arms to his side and a second blasted metal ring snapped around the legs. The thug struggled, before he fell to the ground. Another thug was taken down by the Shadow Phantom.

Little did she know that on the roof, Mondo watched her every movement through a pair of binoculars. The other three Techno-Mages were in position in strategic areas nearby, ready for their multi pronged attack that would cut the Shadow Phantom's career short.

"On my signal, she's distracted," muttered Mondo through the communication link to his other Techno-Mages as they were in position. Before he raised his fingers, to give the signal. "Now, eliminate her."

The Shadow Phantom completed wrapping up the thug. He was not going anywhere until the police had arrived. Before she could gain the attention of any police a loud crack echoed from behind her and something unexpectedly connected with the back of her leg. While she was protected from the attack, it still knocked her off balance. Right behind her, a man dressed in a blue cloak dropped down behind her. He held a wand that had a thick metal cable stuck to the end. Quickly, he pressed the side of the wand and the cable retracted into the wand. Seconds later, three more individuals dropped down on the other side of the Shadow Phantom. Right from the start, she could tell that these were not the average New York street thugs. They circled her, like sharks smelling blood. In an instant, she stood in a battle stance, ready to fight.

From either side, two red lights had been blasted towards her. Quickly, Grace did the splits, before she sprung up and avoided the attacks as they ricocheted off of each other. She sprung forward and tried to attack one of her foes, but he pressed the side of his wand. A wall made of solid energy appeared and Grace had to put the breaks on before she smashed into it. She adjusted the plasma blaster on the arm of her body armor but it had barely put a dent in the wall. One of the attackers moved forward and flicked a small metal bug towards her. The bug latched onto the leg of her armor but at first, it appeared to do nothing.

When she attempted to move into the attack, Grace was shocked that her legs were too heavy to make the jump. She just barely made it two inches in the air, something had happened to the propulsion features on the suit and she fell on her face. It took her an even shorter amount of time to realize that the armor was not as light as it could be, in fact it was just clunky, heavy metal that was not lightened. Whatever that bug was, it had disrupted both the technology and the magic. Grace had struggled to remove the bug from the leg but it remained latched on.

"She's incapacitated, crack the body armor open and see like who defies us, man" said Mondo as the other three Techno-Mages nodded, before they bowed and pulled their wands. Three simultaneous presses of the side of the wands and three cables shot out from each directly. In an instant, they wrapped around the legs, waist, and arms of the Shadow Phantom. She struggled as they pulled her high into the air. Abruptly, they retracted the cables back into their wand and the Shadow Phantom just barely managed to adjust her fall to lessen the brunt. It still was not pleasant, even with the armor that protected her.

Grace rolled around, her ears felt like they were ringing. It was a damn lucky thing she had the armor, even if it did not do her much good in actually fighting. She barely had the energy to lift the arms to defend herself as one of the attackers jumped up, a staff with a sharp spear in the end in hand. She caught the spear in her hands and attempted to push him back. Gingerly, she made her way up to his feet and one of her attackers aimed a solid energy blast from his wand. The simulated magic slammed against the armor and hoisted the girl off of her feet, before she was blasted right through a brick wall.

"I knew I shouldn't have gotten out of bed today," slurred Grace, as she shook her head, dazed, as she struggled to push the rubble off of her legs so she could make an attempt to move them. "Of course, the communication feature, it wasn't hardwired into the technology the rest of the suit for emergency purposes."

Grace struggled to move her helmet, managing to twist her head slightly enough to speak into the mouth piece, hopefully Rosaline was in a place where she could help her easily.

"One more blast like that and she'll be done," said a triumphant voice from outside as Grace's anxiety increased as she attempted to get there.

"Rosaline, are you there, I have a big problem that I need resolved like in the next minute," said Grace through the mouth peace, as she tried to hide under the rubble to buy her some time, no matter how long that would be.

"Yes, I'm here, what is it?" asked her cousin's voice from under the wireless communicator.

"Some thugs attacked me, one of them attached something to my suit that's causing it to malfunction," said Grace.

"Just a second, yes I see it, it's on your leg, I'll see if I can't override it manually, this might take a couple of minutes," replied Rosaline over the communicator.

"A couple of minutes that I don't have mind you," replied Grace as she attempted ready herself for the attack, as the hiding place was levitated right off of her, as she saw her enemies stand above her, as she struggled to her feet to face them.

"I'll give you credit Phantom, after what we've done to you, you're still standing," commented Mondo in an arrogant voice. "It's because of that suit, but still commendable. It will make your defeat all that much more glorious for "X"."

"This "X" guy your boss or something?" asked Grace, who tried to use the time honored tradition of stalling the bad guys for time.

"No use stalling for time, that won't work with us," said one of the Techno-Mages as he held his wand out and pointed it towards the Shadow Phantom. "Shall I do the honors, Mr. Mondo?"

"Be my guest, man," said Mondo as he waved at the Shadow Phantom and the Techno-Mage pointed his wand towards her with a sadistic glint in his eyes. A green blast of light blasted from the wand and the Shadow Phantom just barely was able to lift her arms to block at first. Suddenly, they sprung up and a solid white shield appeared that blocked the deadly attack from hitting her.

"Cut it just a bit closer next time, won't you?" asked Grace in an irritated voice as the bug slipped off her legs and she stomped it. The Techno-Mages took a step back and one of them had pulled out a staff with a sharp spear on the end. He rushed Grace who just avoided the attack. While she would be feeling that brick wall in the morning, at least she was in much better shape than she was. She managed a picture perfect back flip and landed, behind her attacker, before she flipped him over to his back. Another one of her enemies held his wand and jammed it towards the ground. Thankfully, she had the presence of mind to leap up before the sonic vibrations knocked her off balance. The attacker with the staff rushed forward and landed his feet, before he jabbed it at her. Grace crouched down to avoid it and spun her arm back.

A vicious enhanced uppercut punch knocked the Techno-Mage for a loop. A second Techno-Mage had dropped down and shot some kind of stick adhesive from his wand towards her legs. It wrapped around them and the Shadow Phantom struggled as they were struck together. As she struggled to pull herself free, her enemy sprung up and a vicious spinning leg attack knocked her right into a side of the truck with the words "Dunn Shipping Industries" written on the side. The first Techno-Mage had bounced up, staff in hand and attempted to stab it through her armor. However, Grace managed to throw herself out of the way. The sharp spear busted on the side of the truck. A third Techno-Mage dropped down as the Shadow Phantom continued to struggle with the adhesive. His wand shot a bright orange light towards the Shadow Phantom.

She felt the heat as it came but thankfully it was close enough to burn the adhesive off to allow her some more mobility. In an instant, she sprung up and gripped onto the light post and swung around, before she dropped down. Both of her feet slammed into the back of the head of her opponent. Quickly, she kicked the wand to the side and hoisted him up, before she threw him against the wall. Two metal rings shot out. They perfectly latched him to place against the wall. She had little time to celebrate as another one of the Techno-Mages rushed for the side. Two blasts from his wand were deflected, a third one had slightly dented the right arm of her body armor but Grace dodged a fourth attack. A net wrapped around the Techno-Mage and she quickly grabbed the wand before he could use it to free himself.

That left the third Techno-Mage who had picked up the broken staff that his partner used and inserted his wand into it. This created a sharp spear of pure magical energy. He rushed the Shadow Phantom who spun around to dodge the attack. The spear burned a hole through the car that it brushed against. Another attack was avoided and the Shadow Phantom sprung off the wall, before she ducked the attack, while adjusting the stun blaster. The attack spun around and was quickly blasted right off of his feet. He fell to the ground with a solid thud.

"And then there was one," remarked Grace as she turned her attention to Mondo who appeared to be putting on black gloves of some kind. "What's the matter, sweetheart? Afraid to get your hands dirty?"

In a blink of an eye, Mondo was right behind Grace and she turned to finish him off. His right fist impacted right into her stomach. Despite the fact that she was protected by the armor, it still knocked the wind out of her. It appeared that these gloves had amplified his punches as she felt two more of them that had knocked her off balance. Quickly, Mondo spun around and he flipped in the air with expert precision, before he brought both of his hands down on the top of her head. Grace spiraled down to the ground and Mondo gripped her by the throat with surprising strength. He could have not been more than a couple of inches and within five pounds of her weight.

"Who's laughing now?" asked Mondo as he threw her to the side. Grace landed on her hands and sprung back to her feet, but this appeared to be what Mondo wanted as another punch rocked her. She could fear the sonic pulses from inside her armor, as she dropped to the ground. The triumphant Techno-Mage stood over her and wrapped his gloved hands around her throat. She struggled, and gasped for air. "The end of your career Black Phantom, it's so over for you. Now I can remove the mask and see who is underneath."

Mondo grabbed the helmet firmly and expected his glory to be at hand. But the moment that he had tried to remove the helmet, he was knocked onto his back. Had it not been for the gloves, he hands might have been burned off. Unfortunately, it had managed to completely fry the electronics and magic within the gloves. The next thing he knew, the Shadow Phantom had wrapped it up in a net and had strung him up from a light post.

"I knew that fail safe to prevent anyone but myself from removing my helmet was a good idea," said Grace under her breath as she picked up the wand. "Better take one of these as well.

They were unlike any wand she had ever seen, as they appeared to use technology to simulate magic and she wondered who could have had the ability to make such advanced technology. It was even beyond any alien technology she had read about. She also wondered who this mysterious "X" was. There were many more questions and she vowed to get the answers.

From high above, Mondo remove a vial of a crystal blue substance from underneath his sleeve and dripped some on the net. The net dissolved and he dropped down without a word. He would not forget this, this Shadow Phantom embarrassing him and his Techno-Mages. Right now, he had to report to the boss the lack of success of eliminating the new thorn in their side. He would leave his fellow Techno-Mages hanging; it was not his fault that they were so inept that they did not think of a means of escape on the off chance that they had gotten captured.

-

"The Shadow Phantom did what?" thundered "X" from the shadows as Mondo cowered in the corner as Jammerhead stood with a smug look on his face, the Techno-Mages had failed which meant his Cyberdroids might have a better chance of being green lighted by the Master.

"Please Master, forgive me, she defeated my Techno-Mages, somehow she managed to bypass the inhibiter device that we planted on her armor, and by the time I got out, I was unable to slap a tracer on her, she caught us off guard, it won't happen again," pleaded Mondo.

"You're right, it won't happen again, my followers defeated by a mere girl with fancy armor, pathetic," said "X" snidely in the shadows. "Jammerhead?"

"Yes, Master?" asked Jammerhead hopefully.

"That Cyberdroid that you informed me of, how soon can you get it running?" demanded "X".

"Within three hours, with all the features, it is an indestructible machine that feels no pain, in fact, a missile would not even scratch the service," stated Jammerhead in an arrogant tone of voice. "It would crush the Shadow Phantom like a bug in no time."

"For your sake, you had better hope that it meets the hype you have given it," said "X" coldly. "I want a success, we must eliminate the Shadow Phantom, I do not need anyone meddling in my affairs when I am so close to achieving my goal."

-

In the warehouse, Grace helped Rosaline look over the battle armor.

"So far so good, it's only scratched slightly, it appears that the protective charms around them had worked in keeping the armor mostly in tact, even after the battering it suffered," commented Rosaline as she looked over the armor, nodding. It was truly a scientific marvel.

"Yes and not to mention it managed to protect me, even if I'll feel a few aches and pains in the morning," responded Grace as she looked over the battle armor. It was amazing how much it held up, she was knocked around more. "Now as for the wand…"

"That's the thing, isn't it?" asked Rosaline. "I've never seen anything like it in my life and judging by the look on your face, you haven't either. I've run some tests but something is locking us out to get a full scan on what is inside the wand. I can't exactly figure out how it works."

"Keep trying, because I'm curious, if we can figure out how these wands work, I can figure out a better way to fight against them the next time I have to deal with that gang," said Grace, who had an idea that that was not the last time she would come face to face with that lot. "The manual repairs are on schedule, it should be as good as new within the next two minutes."

"Good, let me try one more crack at trying to scan this wand while we're relating," said Rosaline as she placed the wand in the scanner. Both of the girls looked on as it attempted to scan but once again, despite everything they tried, they were blocked out. "Either some kind of high tech encryption or maybe a blocking charm of some sort."

"Or a combination of both," answered Grace with a nod of her head, of course the million galleon question would be exactly how someone so efficiently combined the two together. Turning over, she realized that her body armor had been completed. A few more tests and she would be a good to go.

A loud siren echoed from nearby the warehouse. Grace stiffened immediately when she had heard it.

"Please tell me that's not the alarm I think it is," said Grace in a mortified voice, her eyes darting from side to side, as more alarms went off and she heard an explosion in the background.

"Okay, I won't but I'd be a liar if I was," said Rosaline as she moved over to grab the remote control. "Let's flip on the news and see what's up."

They flipped on the news and on the street; there was what appeared to be a large robot. It was both tall and a thick. The police moved forward to contain it but the machine just casually flicked its hand to the ground, to knock the officers of the law to the ground without even flinching.

"No one appears to stop this strange machine, no one has come close to putting a dent in it and it bulldozed through both the national guard and our police force, now we understand it's take a bus load of children hostage," said the news caster in a frantic voice and Grace balled her fists up when she had heard it taking innocent children hostage. "What world did this strange thing come from? What does it want? Who could stop it?"

"Time to suit up and see if I can pull that thing's plug," answered Grace, who was going to really to test out the limits of the Shadow Phantom battle armor today. "Stand by if I need any help and I think given the size of that thing, that might be a given."

"Right, I will," said Rosaline as Grace moved into the other room, to quick suit up in her armor, hopefully she could find some way to defeat this large robotic monstrosity, considering that no one else had ever even put a dent in into it whatsoever.

-

"Jammerhead, I see no Shadow Phantom below my feet yet," said "X" coldly from the shadows.

"A moment, Master, I'm causing some chaos to draw her out," said Jammerhead as he operated the remote control device where he directed the Cyberdroid, the bus of screaming school children in the palm of its hand. "Any minute now, she will come out and then we'll have her."

"You best hope so, for your sake," said "X" crisply.

"Of course, an amateur is left to the job of a professional, dude, that's not cool," muttered Mondo.

"This is a sophisticated piece of technology Mondo, it will do the job where you and your boys have failed," replied Jammerhead crisply as he looked in the monitor and saw the Shadow Phantom drop down. "Now, take notes Mondo, and see how sophisticated my Cyberdroid is compared to your Techno-Mages."

"Don't get too cocky Jammerhead, finish her off first," warned "X" as Jammerhead began to prepare to control his Cyberdroid. It would be a great victory, machine would triumph where man had failed.

-

"Put down the children, whatever you are!" shouted the Shadow Phantom and the Cyberdroid paused, before it set the bus of school children down and turned its head right towards her and blasted a thick yellow laser from each of its eyes. Both of the lasers connected to the ground but she managed to move out of the way. The lasers created a large creator. Quickly, she propelled up and swung her foot. The Shadow Phantom sent both feet right into the Cyberdroid but did not even back it off an inch. Quickly, the Cyberdroid lifted its hand and back handed her right in the face, to cause her to land with a sickening thud on the ground.

The Shadow Phantom rolled over, as the police made a half hearted response to restrain the innocent bystanders. Her enemy's right arm had turned into a large drill and began to drill down towards her. Quickly, she rolled out of the way and the Cyberdroid drilled its arm straight into the ground. She leapt up, to activate the built in suction cups in her suit, before she climbed up to the top of the building. In a blink of an eye, she pried a large stone gargoyle loose and the Cyberdroid charged her.

"Take this!" shouted Grace, as she managed to kick the gargoyle right towards her opponent. The gargoyle bounced right into the Cyberdroid but it just smashed to the ground without even denting the Cyberdroid. Quickly, the Cyberdroid pulled itself up to the building where she stood. It was the perfect chance to lead this thing away from civilization. "Hey come on you big hunk of tin, catch me if you can."

She took a running start, as the Cyberdroid launched several rockets from its chest plate but she did a somersault and landed right on the next rooftop. The Cyberdroid moved over to charge her and she quickly switched on the cloaking control of her armor to buy her some time before she made her next move.

-

"Foolish girl," commented Jammerhead as he piloted the Cyberdroid. "As if I wouldn't put in infra-red sensors, you can run, but you can't hide. I'll have you and I'll rip you from that hunk of tin."

-

Grace took a deep breath but the Cyberdroid rocketed up into the air before it landed right in front of her. Its propulsion systems were even stronger than hers. The Cyberdroid smacked her down with just one punch. Its right arm turned into a huge axe and it swung but it was only thanks to her quick reflexes that she avoided being cleaved in half. Quickly, she twisted the amplifiers on her armor to maximum power, knowing that there was a good chance she would fry all of the suits power but it was a last ditch try that she had to do.

As the Cyberdroid swung its axe arm at her again, she sprung up and quickly extended both of her arms forward and planted them right into the Cyberdroid. The impact from the double amplified punch of the Shadow Phantom had caused loud vibrations to shake the city but as for the Cyberdroid, the paint was barely scratched. In seconds, the Cyberdroid had the Shadow Phantom in its clutches and lifted the axe up.

Grace closed her eyes, she had only one chance, she just hoped that she had enough power left to pull it off. Quickly she activated the built in grapple in her suit and sure enough a rope with a grappling hook on the end latched onto the axe. As the axe was swung down, the Cyberdroid inadvertently pulled the Shadow Phantom out of its hand. She spun around and caught the Cyberdroid with a glancing attack right to the back of the head. In a blink of an eye, she used the remaining power in the suit to jump down.

"Rosaline, more power please, I depleted it all without that stunt that I tried, not that it did much good" muttered Grace into the communication link as she saw the Cyberdroid drop down not to far across her.

"Just a second, I'm recharging the batteries now, it should take about forty seconds," answered Rosaline as the Cyberdroid opened its chest plate and blasted three missiles right towards the Shadow Phantom. It was only through complete luck that she avoided it, with the fence and the sidewalk behind her blown to bits. If she got out of this alive, she made a mental note to have the power capabilities of the suit increased by several times. A locked gate leading towards a construction sight had caught her interest and in an instant, Grace moved over, an idea formulating in her head.

"Hey, I'm over here, bet you can't hit me," taunted Grace, as she waved her hands, trying to lure her mechanical enemy over.

-

"Annoying child, I'll make sure there is not enough of you left to put in a matchbox," answered Jammerhead as he pushed a black button on the control console, incited by the Shadow Phantom's taunts. The scientist would make her eat them yet.

-

A large ball of fire had blasted towards the Shadow Phantom. It took every ounce of energy to leap up in time to dodge it. The fire burned the gate down and quickly she slipped in. She moved forward to climb into a machine that controlled a large wrecking ball. Pressing a level, the wrecking ball was swung right towards the Cyberdroid who plowed directly through it with the greatest of ease. It burst into dust and the Cyberdroid moved forward, to rip open the vehicle.

"Back online, just in time," muttered Grace, as she activated the propulsion thrusters before it got out of there. The Cyberdroid stopped immediately and had to turn its head. She saw a silvery whole on the top, it was obvious that there was some kind of camera mounted on top of the robot. That meant someone was controlling it via remote control which also meant that if she could block the camera, it would block the line of site from the controller.

Several more missiles blasted forward, that blew up the construction vehicles. A puddle of mud nearby had given the Shadow Phantom an idea.

"Is that the best you can do, surely you have something bigger in that thick shell that you can hit me with?" taunted the Shadow Phantom and the red eyes of the Cyberdroid illuminated to its fullest, before the chest plate opened, to reveal a solid metal orb that looked like it could do some damage. "Hit me with your best shot.

-

Jammerhead tweaked all sorts of knobs on the control panel as the taunts echoed through his ears. He would succeed, this one victory would make him for life.

"Oh you bet I will," said Jammerhead smugly, as he pressed more buttons and the orb launched. It would be able to vaporized anything it touched, armor or not, the only thing that was immune to it would be the Cyberdroid itself.

-

The orb was launched and quickly at the last possible second, the Shadow Phantom launched herself out of the way, before she activated the shield over her armor, hopefully it would be enough to absorb the blast. The orb landed in the mud and a loud explosion sent mud flying everywhere. The mud splashed right in the face of the Cyberdroid and it swung its arms around, in an attempt to peal it off. The Shadow Phantom made her way up to only vehicle that had not been blown to smithereens, a crane. She pushed the lever and it picked up a large steel beam. Steadily, she swung the crane so the beam was over the Cyberdroid and it smashed down onto it. The beam dented over its back but it was only slightly damaged, as it began to wipe the mud from its eyes, but for some reason it had difficulties. This gave the Shadow Phantom time to spot a full cement mixer that had been blown off the vehicle and a deep hole nearby. If she could only lure her enemy over, she could trap it.

She picked up several rocks and began to throw them one by one. They served no purpose other than taunting a blind monster. It had its axe in one hand and drill in the other and advanced on the Shadow Phantom. More rocks bounced off if it as she stood with her back towards the hole. The grappling hook blasted from the armor and she detached it, to create a trip wire. Another rock had bounced off the Cyberdroid. The Cyberdroid moved over and The Shadow Phantom jumped into the air. The Cyberdroid bounced over the trip wire.

-

"Finally," said Jammerhead, who managed to clean off the obstruction but saw his creation fall into the floor and he pounded on the console to try to maneuver it quickly out of the enclosed area. "No, no, get out of there, get out of there now…"

Cement was poured down into the hole and Jammerhead watched helplessly as his Cyberdroid was covered. The cement hardened as the connection from the control console had short circuited.

"Problem, Jammerhead," said "X" curtly as Mondo smirked at the defeat of Jammerhead.

"No, no, just a minor malfunction… it's just that I lost the ability to control the Cyberdroid, it went off line," said Jammerhead as he pounded on the console helplessly. "I think I lost it…it's buried in cement."

"Two failures, pathetic, but expected," responded "X" as he looked at Mondo and Jammerhead. "Don't expect that this is over, I will destroy this Shadow Phantom, no matter how many plans I have to go through or how many men. Is that clear?"

The two members of his organization nodded fearfully towards their faceless leader. He was not that one who had much patience.

-

Seconds after she saw her robotic enemy completely entombed in concrete, Grace collapsed to her knees, breathing heavily. That was not an easy storm to weather.

"Are you okay?" asked Rosaline in a concerned voice.

"Fine," said Grace over the communication link towards her cousin. "Just get me a few minutes, I need to get home soon, Mum and Dad will be worried."

"Okay, if they call here, I'll tell them you're on their way," said Rosaline.

"Thanks," said Grace as she moved off to get to a safe location where she could get out to her armor and head back home. By now her parents had to have heard about the giant robot that went through a rampage through the city.

-

"Mum, Dad, I'm home!" called Grace as she entered the house, as she entered the house as her parents looked in surprise. "I would have called, but that robot that was rampaging the down town area and the phone lines were knocked out."

"Well, you're okay and that's the only thing that matters," said Ginny who had obviously heard the news. "You couldn't have known something like that would have happened in this city and you did get to a safe place, didn't you?"

"Yes, I managed the hide out until that thing was stopped," replied Grace.

"You have more sense than your father did at your age, at any rate," said Ginny as Harry just responded with a smile.

"I seem to have you having at least as much, if not less sense," said Harry with a smile as he looked over at the news bulletin . "Says here that the illusive Shadow Phantom was the person who managed to put down the robot."

"Well someone had to," said Grace with a shrug. "It's lucky that she managed to do it."

"Indeed," responded Harry in an absent minded voice as he looked at the television, as he watched it, it would take a technological genius to build such a robot. From what he saw, it was a combination of Utrom, Federation, and Triceraton technology, with a few other pieces of technology that he did not recognize. If his hunch was right, it was happening all over again but unfortunately this time there was not a damn thing he could do about it without sustaining further injury that he could not walk away from. He just hoped that someone would, for the sake of the world, no matter how little they deserved being save.

"Grace, Hermione called, she said she would have some time off from work and is going to stop by for a visit next weekend," said Ginny.

"Cool," replied Grace, who was looking forward to seeing her godmother again, it had been too long since she had seen her.

-

In her room, Grace sank down on her bed, when the two way mirror right next to her bed blinked to life. In an absent minded manner, she pulled it over before she looked into it, to see her cousin Rosaline's face on the other end.

"I managed to find out something about that wand, by going through the records in the main computer at Uncle Harry's office and found something that matched up exactly with the wand that was used…" said Rosaline as she trailed off. "You're not going to really like this but I suppose I'm going to have to tell you anyway."

"What is it?" asked Grace who wondered why her cousin had looked so distressed.

"The same type of wand that you captured was used in that incident where Uncle Harry was injured, that put him down for the last time, it's them, they were behind this," replied Rosaline slowly and Grace nearly dropped the mirror when she heard this. They was the reason why her father had trouble walking, this "X" person was behind this. "Grace, what are you going to do now?"

"I'm going to figure out who is behind this gang of Techno-Mages and shut them down for good, it's what Dad would do if he was able to," answered Grace firmly.

**There's Chapter Two of Twenty Six, of the first book in a trilogy. There will be many new villains showing up and several old favorites as well. Including some characters that have appeared in Fast Forward and Back to the Sewers. Let the speculation begin. (Although I dropped some hints in a post on the Yahoo group a while back about some things to come). **


	3. Chapter 3: Gecko

**Chapter Three: Gecko:**

"Move it guys, the Shadow Phantom's likely to be on our trail, and "X" wants to avoid a confrontation with her," said Mondo as he oversaw his Techno Mages haul a late crate from the back of a government truck.

"I've found your trail and it's too late to avoid the confrontation, because I've found out where you were," answered the Shadow Phantom as she dropped down right from behind the Techno-Mages in a battle stance. Quickly, they whipped their wands out and began to blast high impact charges of simulated magic. Immediately, the Shadow Phantom put up her shields to block the attacks.

"Amp up the juice, blast her, blast her to smithereens!" shouted Mondo, as he watched the Shadow Phantom shoot her grappling hook up. It latched onto a light post and she swung around. She dodged two blasts from the Techno-Mages, before she spun around and impacted her feet right into the backs of her enemies. A third Techno-Mage blasted her out and a fourth one moved in, before he aimed his foot. The Shadow Phantom was knocked to the ground and she rasped in agony as the foot connected. Realizing that there must be some sort of power amplifiers in the boot of the attacker that caused her pain even with the armor, she had little time to think before the second boot struck her on the chest.

"Okay, time to take that thing away from you," muttered the Shadow Phantom, as she shot a Kusari-Gama chain from the right arm of her armor. The sickle hooked onto the boot and began to short circuit the power amplifiers and caused the Techno-Mage to fall on his feet. Another thug was behind Grace and he held his wand, before he shot razor wire out that wrapped around the armor.

"I wouldn't move if I were you," grunted the Techno-Mage with a vicious look on his face and Mondo looked on at his henchman's handy work approvingly.

"Yes, that wire will crush your armor and eventually you, as you give off more body heat," said Mondo, as he looked around towards his associates. "I don't know how much time it will take before she cracks, but get the crate and I'll find out."

Mondo slipped the black gloves on once again and the Shadow Phantom knew it would be only a matter of moments before he struck her so hard that she involuntarily moved. She had one chance, the cooling function on the suit. Quickly, the Shadow Phantom twisted and activated. The wires retracted enough for her to activate the propulsion system as Mondo swung at her. His hand swung through the air, the impact causing a gust of hot air to be felt. In a blink of an eye, the Shadow Phantom ended up behind her and in a blink, the gloves were removed, before a kick had disarmed him of the wand. Another kick sent Mondo backwards and a third one staggered him even further.

"This should hold you!" shouted the Shadow Phantom as she shot two metal rings. One snapped the arms to the waist of Mondo and the other snapped the legs together. In an instant, the Shadow Phantom sprung into the air, right in front of the Techno-Mages. "Now leaving so soon when the party's about to get started."

They dropped the crate and began to shoot high impact simulated spells. It was lucky that she had more than sufficient power to hold the shield. Once she was in position, she activated both of the grapples and they latched onto the wands. She retracted the grapples and disarmed her enemies. They staggered forward and seconds later, they found themselves wrapped up in nets. They dropped to the ground and the final Techno-Mage rushed forward. He made the mistake of attempting to attack the Shadow Phantom without a punch. She expertly caught his fist and launched him into the wall. With her enemy upside down, the metal rings shot out and snapped him against the wall.

Mondo rolled around, before he removed a metal key from the sleeve of his robe. He twisted the key into the rings and snapped out of them. He saw that his wand was missing and his gloves, so as the Shadow Phantom was busy wrapping up his fellow Techno-Mages, he decided to get going while the getting was good. "X" would not be too pleased that he failed to get the crate, but it sure beat spending a night in jail.

Grace looked, as she saw that the Techno-Mages were wrapped up tightly or otherwise incapacitated. She stepped forward to get a look at the crate that the goons were after but police sirens had caused her to freeze in her tracks. Something told her that the police would not be able to tell the difference between the people stealing the crate and the person who protected the crate.

Quickly, she dodged behind a building and moved forward, as she looked up her shoulder to double check that no one was walking. When she found out that no one in fact had arrived, she opened the side of the shoulder plate and pressed a yellow button. The armor retracted into a space as large as a locket, able for her to easily store it in a bag. She removed her helmet and pressed the switch on the inside, before she entered the security code. The helmet shrunk small enough to able to fit inside the locket. Without a word, Grace placed the shrunken helmet inside the locket and dropped the locket inside her bag, which she shouldered and made her way home.

-

"Mum, I'm here!" called Grace as she entered her house, to see her mother sitting down at the table.

"Good, Grace, just in time, Hermione said she would be coming by in a couple of minutes, have a seat," answered Ginny as she watched her daughter sit down on the table.

"Where's Dad?" asked Grace.

"Meeting with the head of the American Wizarding Government," said Ginny promptly, unable to hide the disgust in her face. "Hopefully he should be by as soon as he…"

"Pulls Montague's head out of his ass," suggested Grace who had heard her father talk about the corrupt head of the American Wizarding Government and his inability to see past his own little self created bubble.

"Grace, language!" shouted Ginny even though she was smiling in spite of her daughter's colorful use of words, simply because the fact she agreed with her.

"Well it's the truth," said Grace as she shrugged her shoulders.

"I know, but…Hermione, you're here!" shouted Ginny abruptly and sure enough Hermione exited from the Floo connection, as she surveyed both of the Potters in the kitchen over her spectacles, as she stepped forward. "It's good to see you again."

"Hermione!" shouted Grace as she rushed forward to greet her godmother eagerly with a hug. Other than her parents and maybe her Aunt Hailey, Grace was not any closer to any adult than she was with Hermione. When she was bedridden during her childhood, Hermione had always brought her so many interesting books to keep her occupied and her mind off her agony. She enjoyed reading about magic, even after she found out that the treatments would suppress her ability to perform magic. Grace was optimistic that one day there would be a cure that would both prevent the outbursts and cause her to retain the ability to use magic.

"Hello, Grace, Ginny, it's good to see both of you," answered Hermione with a smile before she turned to her goddaughter to see her properly. "How's school?"

"Oh, a Muggle High School, no magic and a bunch of cliques bickering for power, actually exactly like the American Wizarding Government minus the magic," responded Grace as she shook her head. "As for me, well an A in every subject, except for my computer class, which I'm just barely scrapping through, mostly due to my shoddy typing skills."

"Good, as for the computer thing, don't get too discourage, you'll pick it up eventually, Grace," encouraged Hermione and Grace nodded. When they had developed the Shadow Phantom suit, Grace and Rosaline had made sure that the armor was clearly labeled with every function.

"So what's new with your research, Hermione?" asked Ginny, as she poured her friend a cup of tea, as they all sat around the kitchen table.

"More of the same, a couple of promising leads here and there on a few new discoveries, but really we've been deadlocked for months, I thought I wasn't going to get this time up to stop by for a visit," responded Hermione as she did look a bit tired from a variety of things. "Nothing as ground breaking as that potion that you have to take Grace, but we do hope that one day that we find something that helps with your condition and allows you to perform magic as well."

"That is a hope we share," answered Grace honestly.

"Don't worry, Grace, one day, if anyone can find something, it will be Hermione," said Ginny.

"You honestly give me too much credit Ginny, it was pure luck that we created the potion that helps Grace control her outbursts now," said Hermione with a shrug.

"Well a few more of those lucky coincidences and you'll get something, Hermione," said Ginny. "You put too much in your work and have gone too far to fail down. One day, Hermione, we'll get it."

"Speaking of people who have put a lot of work into something, what's Harry up to?" asked Hermione. "I thought he would be here."

"He should be soon, he's wrapping up a meeting with the charming Chief Executive Officer Montague," responded Ginny and here she pulled a face, which caused Grace to put her mouth behind her hand to stifle her giggles. "Something about a problem, that is directly linked to…the incident."

Hermione nodded, she knew how it tore up Harry inside to suffer that injury. Even if he did tone down helping people after Voldemort, it still was disheartening. It was not the fact that he wanted to, but the fact that he could not was the problem.

-

"Insolent fool, you lost the crate!" thundered "X" as Mondo cowered against the wall.

"My Techno-Mages were in position to retrieve the crate, Master, but we hit a snag when the Shadow Phantom showed up, she managed to incapacitate them," answered Mondo but he was shaking in absolute terror at the thought of vengeance from his boss.

"Mondo, your constant failures are pathetic, and as for you Jammerhead, you're not much better," said "X". "That cyberdroid of yours, the perfect warrior, was defeated by the Shadow Phantom."

"A minor defect that was corrected in the stream lined model," answered Jammerhead smoothly. "I had to sacrifice size for this one, but the weapons are as deadly as ever and it moves quickly with all kinds of stealth…"

"You have two minutes to give me an idea that does not involve your foolish toy robots Jammerhead," responded "X" coldly. "I'm all ears."

"Well, the elemental fusion chamber that your Techno-Mages stole months back, I've gotten a good look at it and well…you can fuse the DNA of certain animals with, to give you enhanced warriors, warriors that might be able to eliminate the Shadow Phantom," offered Jammerhead feebly. "Just think of the vicious animalistic traits you can combine with the skills of your Techno-Mages, you could have an invincible army of super warriors that could bring your enemies to your knees."

"My Techno-Mages don't need any additions, the Shadow Phantom caught us off guard, that is all," answered Mondo in a defensive voice.

"Once is luck, twice is just pure incompetence," responded "X" in a chilling tone of voice. "Mondo, you will either be the first test subject of the elemental fusion chamber or you will be executed for your constant failures. The choice is yours."

"Fuse me with whatever animal you want," answered Mondo as he looked at Jammerhead who looked smug.

"Mr. Mondo, you won't regret the decision you've made in the name of advancing science," answered Jammerhead as he lead Mondo down the hallway to the elemental fusion chamber to begin the experience.

-

"Montague, I don't care what you want to say and what you want to look at, it's happening all over again," argued Harry, for what felt like the one millionth time as the hard nosed head of the American Wizarding Government. "You're too young to remember this, but what's happening reeks of what happened when Voldemort rose to power and these Techno-Mages have the potential to be about as dangerous as the Death Eaters were in their day."

"My father told me enough about that period, it's grossly overstated, Lord Voldemort was a nutcase who deluded himself into thinking he was something special, a mere figure note in history, reinforced by the fact that his followers abandoned his cause after he fell from power twice," responded Montague snidely. "As for these Techno-Mages, they're nothing but a group of Muggle street punks, pure filth, a very common sight in this city. For someone who has lived in New York for most of their life, you seem way too surprised."

"Muggle street punks that use technology that is sophisticated enough to mimic magic," argued Harry, who wondered if it was fruitless endeavor to argue with someone twelve years his junior. "And it might be a shadow operation to distract us, while there is a growing group of witches and wizards who look disrupt everything and here you are making the same mistakes that I fought against."

"Yes, you fought against, but I think the bigger problem is this Shadow Phantom individual, she's more of a threat than these Techno-Mages, a menace to society," answered Montague as he looked at Harry with a smirk on his face. "You know some of that technology that she has could be easily made by that little organization you make to fund the treatments your weakling daughter needs to keep her in check."

"My technology is not exclusive to my company and it can be purchased legitimately on that note," said Harry through gritted teeth who exercised every bit of self control he had not to break every bone in Montague's body, starting with his jaw, for that slight he had made against Grace. "Of course, while we're bring up similarities, the wand devices used by the Techno-Mages were extremely similar to an aborted project that was undertaken by the American branch of the Department of Mysteries. It would not be the most difficult thing to take those notes and modify them into something workable. A real genius could manage it with little problem."

"Are you accusing me of having something to do with these Techno-Mages?" asked Montague in a confrontational voice.

"Only as much as you are accusing me of being of being behind the Shadow Phantom," answered Harry as he refused to back down. He had played this game for a long time many years ago and refused to let a snarky upstart like Montague win against him.

"Remember, Potter, you might be famous for some fluke once upon a time, but I'm the head of the American Wizarding Government and you can't protect your little creation forever," said Montague as he got in Harry's face but the cold look etched in the emerald eyes had caused even the vicious head of the American Wizarding Government to back off. "I will unmask the Shadow Phantom and expose her identity to the word. My Aurors are on the lookout for her and she will be exposed."

"Well she's in real danger now, I guess," answered Harry as he shook his head. These days, the Aurors in the American Wizarding Government could not catch a cold, much less someone with sophisticated battle armor like the Shadow Phantom had. "Just do what you feel what you have to do."

"Don't worry Potter, I will," said Montague. "Now you're dismissed, I'm sure you need to get back to your fragile little daughter."

Once again, Harry felt the urge to pound Montague's skull in but he was no use to his daughter or wife if he was thrown in an Arctic Prison for brutally assaulting the Chief Executive Officer of the American Wizarding Government. Harry just sat there, as he stared down Montague with gritted teeth before he got up, to grab his walking stick as he hobbled from Montague's office. He always hated these abrupt changes in the weather, it played havoc with the injuries those Techno-Mages gave him during his final adventure against the forces of evil all of those years ago.

-

"Step inside, Mr. Mondo," offered Jammerhead, as he waved his hand and Mondo stepped inside the elemental fusion chamber, as he began to press the buttons to close the pod that Mondo was in. Now, you have feel a slightly agonizing sensation as your DNA is ripped apart and merged with the DNA of another animal, but other than that, I trust you the procedure is completely harmless. I believe the Techno-Mages have your new better half with them right now, ah yes, here they come right now."

The Techno-Mages came through the side door, before they rolled in a cage to reveal a large lion, who growled and swiped its claws against the door. Jammerhead looked at Mondo with a smirk as he made his way over to the control console.

"Just think, instead of being an average everyday Techno-Mage, you will have the strength and ferocity of the king of the jungle," praised Jammerhead as he began to move over. "Just let me fire up these here controls and we can slip that lion into the second pod to begin the transfer."

The moment he pressed the blue button to activate the elemental fusion chamber, a loud beeping echoed throughout the laboratory. Jammerhead's eyes widened as the elemental fusion chamber had began to blink madly as smoke billowed out of it as Mondo screamed as electricity filled his pod. Something happened, the process had started before he had placed the lion in the second pod and before it could be adjusted properly.

"Everyone out now!" shouted Jammerhead urgently. "It's not properly calibrated, it's going to explode at any second.

"GET ME OUT OF HERE!" shrieked Mondo but Jammerhead and the remaining Techno-Mages tripped out of themselves to get out of the room. Jammerhead quickly bolted the door shut behind them as there was a loud humming sound from inside the loud before a loud explosion sounded from the laboratory. Jammerhead stood outside, as he wondered what had caused the elemental fusion chamber to start prematurely.

"Master, there has been a mishap," said Jammerhead meekly.

"Sweep up the mess, see if you can find any scraps, and try again, this plan has too much potential to be defeated by one minor setback," replied "X" coldly over the communication, as Jammerhead nodded, before he motioned for the Techno-Mages to move their way into the lab, as Jammerhead opened the door. The lab was absolutely totaled but other than the hinges being blow off the pod of the elemental fusion chamber and the controls short circuiting, the elemental fusion chamber had remained mostly intact, easily able to repair. The ceiling was caved in and a green, scaled, slightly slimy hand began to poke from underneath the rubble.

"Mondo?" asked one of the Techno-Mage's in a confused voice. "There's no way he could have survived that, could he of…"

"Use the levitating ray on our magic simulators," ordered another one of the Techno-Mages, as they pointed them towards the ground, before yellow lights shot into the rubble and hoisted it off of Mondo, who twitched as he rolled over and the Techno-Mages recoiled when they saw the ghastly sight above him. Mondo had been transformed into a mutant gecko.

"What's happened…what went wrong?" asked Mondo in a dazed voice as he stared at his hands before he shrieked in surprise, and backed up, nearly falling over. His hands were scales, a slimy green and he shook them in shock. "A mirror…give me a mirror…dude…GIVE ME A MIRROR DAMN IT!"

"Right away, Mondo," said Jammerhead in a shaky voice as he handed Mondo a mirror as he took in his appearance. It was more evident than ever his DNA had fused with that of the pet gecko he kept in his pocket and he nearly dropped the mirror, before he slowly felt around him. Sure enough, he had a tail as well. Mondo breathed heavily in and out for a few seconds, as he began to laugh at his new freakish experience, before he quickly swung his tail and cracked Jammerhead right in the ribs, to send the scientist into the wall.

"You inept fool, you turned me into this abomination, you promised me power, but what power do I have as a mutant gecko, I'm nothing but an abomination now!" shouted Mondo as he swung his tail as the Techno-Mages moved towards him, to knock them down to the ground. Quickly he leapt up and crawled up the wall, before he slipped through the exit. The alarms went off, but Mondo sprang out to avoid the lasers, before he moved into the lab across the hall. He reached in, before he pulled a variety of weapons off of the table, to stuff them inside a duffel bag, before he shouldered it. The Techno-Mages moved in but Mondo quickly swung his tail once again and struck them all with one hit.

"Now with you out of the way, I'll finally rule New York City, I'll show you, I won't need you "X"!" shouted Mondo with a crazed look on his face as he scaled the wall, before he shot his tongue out to open the air vent and he slid his way outside for the nearest exit. Jammerhead staggered in a second later.

"Master, Mondo has…" said Jammerhead.

"Allow him to leave," said "X" swiftly. "You are a fool if you don't believe that overgrown mutant gecko won't cause a problem to keep the Shadow Phantom distracted, while the Techno-Mages continue the job that Mondo bumbled earlier."

"As you wish Master," said Jammerhead with a nod. "I will begin work in salvaging the elemental fusion chamber, so we can continue the experiments as I intended."

-

In an extravagant restaurant in New York, Hermione joined the entire Potter family for a lunch, as she updated all three of them on her work. Most of it was technical stuff that Grace, while she was smart, just smiled and nod, not able to understand the lot of it. Most likely, she would rather be out there, fighting Techno-Mages than listen to the seven properties of a snail uterus or whatever strange discoveries her godmother was talking about.

"I think this will revolutionize the Wizarding World, not that it matters to some people" said Hermione in a slightly put off voice. "The American Wizarding Government won't give my team the time a day for my discoveries."

"At any other time, you would win an Order of Merlin, First Class for your work, but right now, we are in a society that is even more resistant to change than ever before," said Harry. "Still don't do it for the accolades, do it for the desire to find more knowledge."

"Indeed, as Harry has found out too often, it's better to do things just to do them, to do them just to be appreciated," inputted Ginny. "Trust me, Hermione, your achievements will be a lot more rewarding that way."

"Besides, Hermione, we appreciate your work, that should be enough, shouldn't it?" asked Grace with a smile.

"Thanks for that all of you, it's frustrating but to see that you all respect what I'm doing makes it all worthwhile no matter what the pompous fools in the American Wizarding Government think," responded Hermione but at that moment, they were caught off guard by a loud explosion and the patrons looked up, gasping as a large deformed creature that looked like a giant gecko had entered the restaurant with a laser blaster in one hand and a black orb in the other hand.

"Excuse me sir, but do you have a reservation?" asked the doorman and Mondo just grinned, before he pointed his laser blaster and shut the doorman flush in the chest. He dropped to the ground, a large gaping hole in his chest as blood dripped from the ground.

"Everyone freeze, and give me what I want," said Mondo. "Money, jewelry, first born children, doesn't matter, fork it over."

"We better help these people get out of here before he causes too much damage," muttered Harry out of the corner of his mouth as Ginny and Hermione nodded, as all three pulled out their wands.

"I'll get the police," offered Grace, as she backed off and Harry nodded, before he averted his eyes towards the door, as the Potter girl slipped out, to make a quick change of clothing and the two witches and one wizard moved to the side, to try to stun the gecko, while he would not notice, but he blasted a laser at the ground.

"Why if it isn't Harry Potter?" asked Mondo with a smile on his face, as he pointed the laser blaster. "We can finish the dance we started five years ago."

Mondo pointed the laser blaster at Harry and shot a high impacted blast that would he ripped through the chest had it connected, but he blinked when he saw Harry stood there and several people gasped, as they wondered what happened.

"Shield charms, I forgot, but these Muggles don't have any shield charms," said Mondo with a twisted expression on his face. "This Techno Bomb will blow them sky high."

Mondo prepared to detonate it but a grappling hook flew through the opened door and latched on the bomb before he could deliver it. He turned around, to get a punch right to the face from the Shadow Phantom. Mondo crashed through a table but sprang up in an instant and swung his tail. The Shadow Phantom was knocked a step backwards but her armor absorbed the majority of the hit. Mondo bent his knees and leapt up outside, to face the Shadow Phantom. She shot the metal rings but he quickly shot his tongue out, and wrapped around one before he flung it back at her. The Shadow Phantom was knocked off guard and Mondo sprung up, before he expertly swung a kick to the chest at the Shadow Phantom that staggered back. Quickly he threw a bomb at her. The explosion was protected by the armor but it was still scorched slightly.

"Do you really think you can beat me?" asked Mondo as he flung a pair of exploding shuriken at the Shadow Phantom but she deflected them in a blink of an eye, to cause them to explode harmlessly off of a parked car. "Do you know who I am?"

"Let me guess, you're going to tell me how to save a bunch of money on my car insurance," dead panned the Shadow Phantom as she shot a net right at her adversary, but he batted it back at her with his tail, before he threw another Techno-Bomb at her. The propulsion devices in her armor shot her out of harm's way and she came down with an amplified punch towards the enemy who leapt out of the way and began to scale up the wall of a nearby building.

"Here's a hint, Shadow Phantom, I fought you twice before and you humiliated me!" shouted Mondo from above.

"Mondo?" inquired the Shadow Phantom in a confused voice as she activated the suction cups and moved up the building to face her opponent. "What in the hell happened to you?"

"It's your fault, "X" wouldn't have turned to Jammerhead and forced me into that experiment and turn me into this hideous…mutant," said Mondo as he swung his tail at the Shadow Phantom who managed to leap out of the way and a somersault, before she attempted to hit him with a stun blast but he avoided that. "Just look at me, look me in the face, I'm a freak, a monster, an abomination…"

"Not to mention a whiner, a bitch, a crybaby, and a two time loser," responded the Shadow Phantom in a bored voice as Mondo pulled out another laser blaster and began to shoot at her. A loud blast caught her right in the arm and for a second, she was momentarily stunned. "Give you credit Gecko breath, that one dinged me good, you won't get that one again, then again you won't get a date again!"

"I'll make you pay for making a mockery out of me, you foolish girl!" shouted Mondo as he blasted laser blaster shot after laser blaster shot at his adversary, but the Shadow Phantom was not allowing him to get another hit on her again.

"You do such a fine job of doing that yourself!" taunted the Shadow Phantom as Mondo angrily tossed down the blaster when he realized it was out of juice. He reached towards his bag for another toy but the Shadow Phantom shot a rope with a grappling hook on the edge. Mondo was pulled forward as his bag of tricks was removed. "I think that's enough toys for one day, Mondo Gecko."

"Don't call me that!" shouted Mondo as he shot his tongue out but the Shadow Phantom quickly throw the bag over the edge of the roof before he could grab it.

"Why, it's fitting, even you have to admit it," said the Shadow Phantom as she avoided another tail based attack before she started to chant in a childish way. "Mondo Gecko! Mondo Gecko! Mondo Gecko!"

"Stop mocking me!" shouted Gecko as he swung his tail, but once again the Shadow Phantom made some evasive action and his widened when he saw a lone Techno Bomb that had obviously slipped out of a small rip in the bag before the Shadow Phantom had shot it over the edge. Expertly, his tongue shot forward before it wrapped around the Techno-Bomb and pulled it forward, before he held it up and pressed the time delay mechanism. "Fetch!"

The Shadow Phantom quickly shot her grappling line outward, as the Techno-Bomb was launched right towards a very populated club with people walking out of it.

Andrea Radcliffe was on top of the world. She had a date with one of the richest, hottest guys in New York City and had been invited to this exclusive club that was only restricted to the New York City elite. Grace Potter did not get into clubs with this, who did she know that was any importance?"

"Out of the way!" shouted a voice and Andrea looked up with disdain as that awful Shadow Phantom person swung forward. Before she could tell her off, people screamed as a large orb object struck to the side of the club. A loud, ear splitting explosion echoed throughout the city as a large hole was blasted in the club. Several people scattered and Andrea was pushed right into the path of the rubble but seconds later, she felt herself hoisted into the air.

"Let me go you lower class idiot!" shouted Andrea as she swung through the air. "You're wrinkling my clothes, these are the latest fashions, not that you'd know anything about that with that tin body suit you're wearing."

Grace sighed, in a city full of this many people and the one person she had to save was the queen bitch. Andrea squirmed and struggled as they swung out of harm's way.

"Let me go, do you here me, put me down this instant!" shrieked Andrea. "Down right now!"

The Shadow Phantom's rope was cut by a spinning blade thrown by Mondo from the side. Thankfully it was low on the ground so she was able to drop down and Andrea slipped from her grasp, before she splashed into a puddle of mud. Her clothes were completely totaled and normally Grace would be amused by this, but right now, she had to fight Mondo, who had reclaimed his toys, with a Techno-Bomb in each hand.

"Remove the mask or I'll blow this entire city block sky high!" shouted Mondo in a manic voice, as he looked as dangerous as his word. "Off with it Shadow Phantom, so this entire city block, including all of these reporters can see who you are.

Grace quickly placed her hands on the helmet, under the pretext of removing it but she removed a metal capsule before she tossed it to the ground. A bright light filled the alley, blinding everyone in the distance, except Grace who had light filters installed in her helmet. Mondo was blinded by the light, and quickly, Grace used the distraction to remove the bombs and threw them up into an empty alleyway away from civilization. As the light cleared, she struck Mondo with a kick.

"You won't get away with that little trick again," said Mondo angrily as he swung a punch but the Shadow Phantom ducked. "I'll unmask you myself!"

"Yeah, like that worked so well last time," responded the Shadow Phantom in a sarcastic voice as Mondo swung his tail at her but she expertly leapt out of the way and Mondo's tail smashed against a car.

"My car!" screeched Andrea, still covered in mud, and Mondo grabbed the Shadow Phantom but she flipped him right onto the car, causing him to smash into the wind shield which prompted Andrea to shriek. Mondo pulled himself up as the Shadow Phantom climbed on top of the car with him, but he dropped down before he scaled up the wall. The Shadow Phantom shot a grapping hook, to climb up to the building. The moment she reached the top of the building, Mondo struck her with his tail.

"You know, I'm getting really sick of this tail thing," complained the Shadow Phantom as Mondo swung a punch at her but she back flipped on her feet and shot a net out. The net was caught by the tongue of Mondo and thrown right back towards her. A plasma blast from her armor ripped the net into shreds before she twisted the amplifiers and swung a punch towards Mondo but Mondo moved and large gust of wind was created. Another punch was avoided, as Mondo avoided the attacks.

"See, Shadow Phantom, you can't beat me, no matter what you try, last time you got lucky!" bragged Mondo as he ducked another punch and swung his tail but the Shadow Phantom blocked it. "It just really depends on how much power that little suit of yours has left before I beat you."

"We'll see Gecko," responded the Shadow Phantom as she avoided another swing with the tail but she avoided the attack. She saw Mondo just very near a very rickety ledge that would have collapsed from a good sonic vibration. She raised her fists, before she slammed them down right onto the ledge. Mondo's eyes widened in surprise as the rubble collapsed and he managed to stick his tongue to the wall to avoid him falling to his doom. The Shadow Phantom swung over on her grapple and shot out the metal rings that hooked Mondo to the wall before he dropped down. A stun blast had caught him the back that used up the remainder of her suit's power. The crowd below looked on, as the mysterious gecko monster that terrorized the city had been tied up.

The Shadow Phantom sank into the shadows in the confusion to change back into her civilian identity but since once again she had saved the day. Now, she needed to find her parents and godmother, an explanation already flowing through her head about why it took her so long to get back.

-

A group of Techno-Mages wheeled in the same crate the Shadow Phantom had prevented them from stealing previously. Through the shadows "X" watched as Jammerhead followed the Techno-Mages into the room.

"As I told you before, Mondo kept the Shadow Phantom distracted, while my men stole this," summarized "X" from the shadows, he held his hand out.

"What is it?" asked Jammerhead.

"One component to my ultimate plan to bring this city to its knees, soon all will learn to fear me and the power I wield," said "X" "And when the time is right, I will take a personal hand in crushing the Shadow Phantom underneath my foot. As for right now, we need to keep her occupied until I obtain all of the components and these mutants have proven themselves to be useful distractions. Is the elemental fusion chamber repaired?"

"Nearly, Master, it should be operational within the next day or so," offered Jammerhead.

"Then all is going according to plan," concluded "X" before he laughed evilly. Soon, the world would tremble before him.


	4. Chapter 4: The Magic in Me

**Chapter Four: The Magic in Me.**

It was a rare beautiful day in the latter part of the fall, with only the slightest hints of a cloud in the air. Grace took advantage of this opportunity to walk up to the school. She knew, having lived in New York your entire life, that the weather could turn from nice to bitterly cold in the blink of an eye. Overnight, several feet of snow could be dropped on the ground. As she walked up to the entrance of the high school, her mood quickly soured when she overheard Andrea scathingly launching into a rant to a group of students who were obviously either disinterested or humoring her for the sake of their own perverse entertainment.

"They talk about us teenagers being the cause of everything that goes wrong in this city, when it's that Shadow Phantom freak who is really the cause of it, all these nutcase mutants didn't show up until she showed her metallic face and now we have to live with the problems," ranted Andrea as Grace recalled two encounters that she had recently. One was with a mutant lion and another was with a large mutant gorilla. Both battles were taxing, but thanks to a few inventive modifications to her Shadow Phantom armor, she managed to weather the storm and defeat both mutants. There were also a rash of thefts that had the fingerprints of the Techno-Mages all over them, so Grace began to piece together these mutants were just a front to keep her busy. Still, she could not ignore the growing problem of mutated animals being let loose in New York. "Even Potter would have to agree; the Shadow Phantom should be locked up and never let out to mingle among us normal people ever again."

"Normal people and you as well, I think," responded Grace casually which caused Andrea to scowl at her and Grace to smirk as she walked into the school. This was going to a big day in science class today, as they would study a rare solar disturbance that happened once every seventy seven years. Of course, Grace knew exactly what the cause of this disturbance was, it was based on an inordinate amount of magic being in the air at a certain time period and it caused vast effects that caught the attention of even the most unobservant Muggle. She could not wait to see it, it sounded interesting, a real once in a lifetime event.

-

"As you can see, the movements in the sky lead to unique patterns of techno-color lights in a variety of different hues and frequencies," lectured Professor Rickman, their science instructor, as the class all looked in awe. Even if someone was not all that intrigued by science they would have to be impressed. "No one knows exactly why this has occurred, scientists have studied these patterns once they were first discovered back in the eighteenth century and even with more sophisticated equipment that we have these days, even the scientists are quite baffled. Still, we could get an idea of the strange frequencies that this cosmic mass puts off by using the spectrum analyzer that we have in this classroom."

Grace looked up as Rickman rose to his feet to use the device he intended and suddenly she blinked. In the swirling cloud of energy outside the school window, she could have sworn she had seen a disembodied face stuck in the middle of the vortex. Giving her head a little shake, the face was not there anymore, but it was a strange site, one that she hoped that she imagined.

"Just make a few adjustments to properly calibrate…" state the Professor as he twisted a knob, but the spectrum analyzer became to hum as Rickman backed off. Several members of the class craned their necks curiously to see what was off as the teacher looked very vague. "These readings, off the scale, these energies are too immense, almost as if they are being pulled into the spectrum analyzer, but how could it be…EVERYONE TO THE DOOR, NOW! STANDARD EVACUATION PROCEDURE LETS GO!"

Everyone got from their seats at once as the person nearest had pushed the door open but the spectrum analyzer illuminated a bright green before it melted down. A corporeal shape appeared, with a smug expression on its face. It rose up high, as papers blew in the classroom, almost with a cyclone of wind. The figure turned, to reveal the face that was very familiar to Grace from her father's recollections of his past adventures. It was Luther Malfoy, but he had become something even more dangerous towards the end, an entity of pure raw magic named Master Magic and the reports of his demise had been greatly exaggerated.

"Freedom, finally, this magical imbalance was the perfect thing to pull me back together! Master Magic cannot be destroyed!" crowed Master Magic triumphantly as several of the students looked at him, with confused and often terrified looks on their faces. Master Magic rose up to his full height as malevolent magical energy swirled around him. "You children should have gotten out of this classroom while you had the chance!"

Without warning, a blast of red light blasted towards several tables that caused them to be blasted. Grace quickly threw herself on the floor in the confusion, and made her way to the auxiliary room to the side. Something told her a change of clothes were in order, as she saw many students drop to the ground. Professor Rickman backed off as Master Magic stood in front of him.

"What matter of creation are you?" asked Rickman as he finally found his voice.

"I'm ultimate power personified!" cried Master Magic triumphantly as he raised his hands high into the air and suddenly, ropes appeared out of nowhere, that wrapped Rickman. Before Master Magic could finish him off, he was caught off guard by a set of metal rings that snacked around him. He struggled as a figure dressed in black and green battle armor, with a helmet obscuring their identity.

"Yes, well you're something else personified alright, I prefer the term madness personified myself," replied the Shadow Phantom calmly but at that point, Master Magic began spun around at a high speed, that kicked up gusts of wind that shattered all of the windows in the classroom and caused the walls to crumble, where the rings dissolved to dust. He contorted his body into a red light before he blasted forward, but the Shadow Phantom somersaulted out of the way. Master Magic put the breaks on and the Shadow Phantom shot a grappling hook at him. Master Magic laughed as it passed completely through him before he levitated a desk in the air and threw it at his enemy. She rolled out of the way and a magical energy blast met a stun laser blast, that caused a hole to be blown in the ceiling.

"Just who are you anyway?" demanded Master Magic as he shot a variety of spells from his hands, that the Shadow Phantom ducked and dodged, while she hoped they did not hit any innocent bystanders.

"The Shadow Phantom," responded the Shadow Phantom coolly and this newest piece of information appeared to enrage Master Magic.

"Not another blasted Phantom!" shouted Master Magic as a dangerous yellow light whirled towards her like a buzz saw. The Shadow Phantom blocked it by throwing a broken piece of desk in the way.

"Afraid so," responded the Shadow Phantom as she ran up the wall, using the suction cups on the bottom of her boots, as Master Magic blasted at her and she flipped off, but Master Magic put the breaks on. He turned around, it appeared he was corporeal again and this was the chance she needed. A net flew right towards the entity, to wrap him up tight. Master Magic struggled, but the material was so tight that it appeared that he could not even phase through. "I think that wraps up your comeback, Master Magic."

"On the contrary, things are about to get rocking," responded Master Magic and unfortunately, the floor began to vibrate. Grace's face contorted in fear underneath the helmet, as the floor crumbled, with the knocked out students still in the room, unable to get out of harm's way in time. She would never be able to save them all, in fact she could barely save herself as the floor completely caved in. A grappling hook shot down, to wrap around a stair railing nearby and allowed the Shadow Phantom to swing off to the side, but she saw several bodies, some crushed underneath the rumble and some with limbs bent at awkward angles. She moved over to see what she could to help, but the net had also torn on the way down and Master Magic flung a section of the roof at her, to knock her off balance. "No heroics for you today, child."

"Listen here, innocent people are injured, they could be dying, I need to get them out of here before they get worse," pleaded the Shadow Phantom, even though she knew she would have better luck talking to the brick wall around the school.

"Tell someone who gives a damn," said Master Magic coldly, as a blue blast of light struck the Shadow Phantom flush in the chest. She was knocked backwards, before all of the components in her battle suit began to go haywire, blasting laser blasts, nets, tranquilizer darts, shuriken, the entire lot in every which direction in random directions. Several screams were heard as the classroom doors were blasted open, as the legs twitched around on their own accord. Master Magic rose up into the air and contorted his form into a giant orange fist. It swung forward and smashed the Shadow Phantom right in the face. Another blast had caused her armor to even go more haywire and she could feel the magic seep into her armor. Something about her enemy's particular brand magic caused all of her senses to go numb. A slight stabbing pain manifested itself in her stomach in her stomach as she collapsed to the ground. She rolled inside the gymnasium, which was empty at the moment, but the walls rattled.

"Need to fight, Master Magic," rasped the Shadow Phantom weekly, as her suit was tainted by the same strange magical energy that hit her and it was causing her to become severely weak. It was almost like she went through one of those episodes again, the same that had plagued her childhood, without her really going through one. Her legs were so weak that they could not even support the weight of her body.

"Foolish child, as if you could ever think you could stand up to my power!" cackled Master Magic as the Shadow Phantom collapsed to the ground, as she desperately sent a distress single, hoping that Rosaline would pick it up. That was the last thing that went through her head, for the set of bleachers that Master Magic dropped on her did.

A swirl of magical energy appeared and Master Magic took on the corporeal form of Luther Malfoy.

"Now with that minor annoyance out of the way, it's time to gain my revenge on Harry Potter, the Black Phantom, and those accursed Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!" boasted Master Magic boldly, but he was unable to hold this form together for too much longer and he felt a bit peakish. He needed to find the rest of his essence before the magical disturbance had subsided and then he would be at full power once more. For that, he needed more power and he knew exactly where he could obtain some.

-

An hour later in the gym, a trio of paramedics had began to remove the remaining rubble off of the weakened body of the Shadow Phantom who shuddered as a group of students watched from afar, that included one Andrea Radcliffe, a wide grin appearing on her face when she saw the Shadow Phantom in such a weak state. She stepped forward, nearly shoving the paramedics out of the way, with a look of pure bliss on her face. The only thing better would be if she finally beat Grace Potter to gain the top marks in their year.

"Serves the Shadow Phantom right, she caused all this, all those students injured, that Master Magic guy was just a victim like we all were," summarized Andrea haughtily as she bent down, her fingertips on the helmet of the Shadow Phantom. "Now we can finally see who's under this mask, probably some disfigured freak with warts and all kinds of nasty scars. I mean, why would a good looking person wear a mask?" Time to see what she's hiding under there."

The security fail safe devices had been disabled when Master Magic had fried the electronics with his magical energy blasts and Andrea came seconds from revealing the identity of Master Magic but a hand appeared to block of, of a young girl wearing a white blouse, a medium length black shirt, and thick glasses, with her brown hair tied up in a bun.

"Hold on right there, Miss, I represent the Shadow Phantom, I'm her agent," answered the girl in a business like tone of voice. "And I'm afraid it's very bad for business, if the Shadow Phantom unmasked, I'd lose the confidentiality of all of my other clients."

"Agent, she gets an agent, I'm an important person, I should have an agent!" shouted Andrea angrily. "She's a crook anyway and a murderer. She attacked all of those students without any reason whatsoever."

"That's for the police to decide, not you, but I'm sure the witnesses can verify that it was the strange figure that called himself Master Magic that was the one behind this," said the agent patiently. "Right now, I need to get my client away safely, she needs medical attention, don't worry, I have resources."

The paramedics nodded numbly, as the agent picked up the Shadow Phantom but stopped as there was a strange orange glow to the wall. A few students that got too close had immediately collapsed to shrieks from the watching crowd. One paramedic had taken a step, but suddenly felt rather weak as well as his knees began to buckle underneath him.

"Radiation, everyone away from this wall," gasped the paramedic weakly, as he could barely even stand for a moment, as he dropped down.

"We need to quarantine this school right away, everyone out through that far door," ordered another voice, as the students panicked to see others drop to the ground with no warning. It had obviously freaked them out immediately but the fact that someone had taken charge had caused them to take a few uncertain steps forwards the door.

-

In a warehouse, Rosaline removed her disguise as the Shadow Phantom's "agent" before she looked at her fallen cousin, who looked rather weak. Her Aunt Ginny would have learned by now of the attack on the high school or soon enough, by Master Magic and that would immediately cause her to get worried. It was lucky that Uncle Harry was out of town on business, otherwise once he heard; he would have tracked down Master Magic and done something that he would regret. Montague was looking for an excuse to throw Harry into prison and this would be just the thing he needed.

The electronics had been completely fried, but she was doing some creative rewiring to shrink the suit back into its locket form. It would be much easier to repair it that way. The locket and the helmet had removed, as her cousin's green eyes slowly opened, she appeared shaken but the suit had protected her body from the majority of the punishment, even though she still seemed weak for some reason.

"Rosaline, is that you?" asked Grace in a weak voice as she was just barely able to lift her head.

"Yes, Grace it's me, how are you feeling?" asked Rosaline.

"Like someone dropped an entire building on me when I had the flu," answered Grace, with a smile, as she felt flushed again and tried to lift herself up, but she could not. "Bombarded with too much magic at once, he must have caused the potion that I take to fail and triggered an accelerated episode…"

"Then you need rest and another potion," offered Rosaline, as she had placed the locket in her bag as Grace did not look all that good at all.

"Get me the potion but I can't rest…need to stop Master Magic…out there…innocent people," voiced Grace in an absolute weak voice as Rosaline walked off to get her cousin a potion.

"You can't defeat Master Magic in your condition," said Rosaline in a firm voice, who decided now would not be the best time to tell Grace that she might not be able to beat Master Magic at any condition. Another blast of that magnitude could trigger a fatal episode. She handed Grace the potion who downed it in a couple of good gulps.

"Just give me a few minutes to rest, and then I'll go and find him," said Grace, even though she still felt cold shivers. The potion had caused her some relief, but the damage that was done still produced aches and pains throughout her body. "Get the suit ready…"

"It will take me at least a day to get up running," interrupted Rosaline and Grace signed in frustration. "Best you get back home.."

"Yes, you're right, if Mum finds out what happened at the school, she'll worry herself sick, think of something to explain it to her what happened, so she doesn't have too many suspicions," said Grace, as her forehead felt slightly warm but she summoned the strength to get up, to follow her cousin, who had an emergency Portkey that would send Grace straight home, as an explanation had already been formed in Rosaline's head.

-

Outside of a government research facility outside of the city, Master Magic staggered forward, weakened, as he leaked power faster than he could manage to replenish it. It just proved that he had not completely pieced himself back together. Master Magic raised his hand into the air and one of his fingers magically contorted into a key that fit the lock perfectly. He twisted open the lock, which opened and Master Magic slid inside where a group of scientists stood, a various stages of working. Master Magic clapped his hands and a loud explosion reverberated throughout the lab.

"Now that I've got your attention, the solar suit, where is it?" demanded Master Magic angrily who doubted very much they had moved it. He had tried to steal it once as Luther Malfoy, but failed thanks to those miserable mutants and their human brother. "You better give it to me or I will destroy each and every one of you painfully!"

Master Magic placed the hand to his forehead as he felt the strain of holding himself together for so long in a minimum of magic, he needed to transmute more energy into magic soon, he was starting to come out, it was a miracle he managed to eliminate the Shadow Phantom when he did. One of the scientists pointed towards a safe fearfully and Master Magic rushed over, before his body contorted into shape of a drill that blasted right through the safe. The safe swung open and Master Magic blasted through, before he gripped his hands around the suit, the essence of it fusing to him. Now he could use the sun to create solar energy that he could transmute into magic. It should be able to hold up until he was able to find the rest of his essence scattered in the magical spectrum in the air. He left all of the scientists alive due to the fact he was in a good mood because of his triumph and the fact that he wanted to leave witnesses to his great power.

One of the shell shocked scientists managed to move over to activate the alarm to indicate the theft of the solar suit. It would lead to their secret benefactor, who would know what to do in this situation.

-

Ginny had just come down from upstairs, to check on her daughter, who had apparently come down with a bad case of the flu. She had got home from school, rested at a factory near the school for a couple of hours, before Rosaline helped her home. It was unfortunate that she would have to slowly get rid of her illness the Muggle way as the potions that gave her relief would not work well in tandem with the ones that were used to suppress her magic.

"Ginny!" shouted the voice of her sister-in-law, Hailey Potter-Longbottom and quickly Ginny picked up the two way mirror from the fireplace that was a bit dusty, but used for quick communication. She still had never quite gotten the hang of using the telephone, despite the fact that Harry had talked her through it several times.

"Yes, Hailey, what is it?" asked Ginny as she picked up the mirror.

"Turn on the television, there's a piece of disturbing news that I think you should be seen and be warned of," said Hailey who looked a bit tired and rather worried as well and Ginny quickly flicked on the television to see the high school that Grace had went to, that looked to be a chaotic sight, as students were moving everywhere. Her daughter had come down with the flu at the right time, there appeared to be some sort of chaotic scene at the school.

"Our top story of the hour, a dangerous figure that called himself Master Magic attacked the students and when the mysterious vigilante known as the Shadow Phantom showed up, she was handily defeated, leaving the students in grave danger, as many of them have dropped, weakened by radiation poison," said the newscaster.

"How?" asked Ginny in a shocked voice and her eyes widened.

"Exactly what I was thinking, this magical disturbance in the air might have inadvertently pulled Luther back together and now he's back, he has to be dealt with soon," said Hailey, as she looked at Ginny though the mirror. "He's going to come after me you know, I did play a part in defeating him, but I got the satellite dish from last time ready, I just need a bit more help in setting it up. I know Grace is sick but it won't take that long to get it up.

"I'll be right over," answered Ginny as she had a charm around her daughter's room to monitor whether or not she moved from her room or not, so if she was needed, she could pop straight back over.

-

Master Magic dropped down from the sky, his power growing, but at the same time, there was something lacking. Yet, he tracked the location of the Black Phantom, alias Hailey Potter, to this spot. Finally, he would get some old fashion revenge, by using her as bait to lure Harry Potter into a trap where he could destroy the nuisance that had been his greatest enemy. Then he would rule the world.

A loud explosion echoed from outside as Ginny and Hailey had completed hooking up the satellite dish.

"Here he comes," said Ginny as she saw the street lamps rattle outside and several tree limbs snap back and forth. The entire street rocked at the magic.

"Hailey Potter!" shouted the voice of Master Magic from below. "You're lucky when you defeated me on our last encounter. If you're any kind of real hero, you'd face me once more."

"I'm right here, Master Moron!" called Hailey as Luther turned, to ball up his fists his anger. He absolutely despised that insult. "Want me, come get me."

Sure enough, a bolt of solid but jagged magical energy shot up towards the window. Hailey turned on the satellite dish and blasted a full beam of platinum light right towards Master Magic. For the briefest of seconds, she was relieved, as she had thought it worked as it did last time, but Master Magic forced his magic through the platinum energy blast, causing the satellite dish to blow up. Hailey and Ginny were just barely able to put up shield charms to brace themselves from the explosion.

"Foolish girl!" shouted Master Magic as he rose up to his full height as more magic swirled around him, it was almost as if he was able to draw even more of his magical energy into him. "It may have succeeded in defeating me during our previous encounter, but now it's given me the means to piece all of my essence back together. My powers have evolved such that your little satellite is useless in defeating me!"

A large golden dome appeared around the house. It was a construct that kept both of the girls encased inside. They tried to blast out with every spell they could think of but found that no matter what they threw at the dome, it would not have budged. From the wall, the grinning face of Luther Malfoy appeared, taunting them. Throwing a spell at him would only serve to amplify the power that he has.

"You thought you have seen the last of me, but you should know that magic cannot be destroyed, it's everywhere, it was just the matter of the right opportunity to stage my comeback, Black Phantom," said Master Magic with glee, as his eyes focused on Ginny for the first time. "Ah, Ginny Weasley or I suppose it would be Potter by now, you're here as well, this is too good to be true, the perfect opportunity."

"So what are you going to do?" asked Hailey. "Use this little golden dome you've put around us to crush us to death."

"Nothing that crude, at least not right now," said Master Magic with a slight cackle. "You see, I have a score to settle with Harry Potter, he's the reason I was defeated all that time again."

"Harry wasn't the one who defeated you, I did, he wasn't even there at the time," argued Hailey but Master Magic rolled his eyes slightly.

"Yes, but he was the one who trained you in the art of ninjitsu, so it's his fault and will pay," responded Master Magic blandly. "You two will be perfect to bait the trap and the Boy-Who-Lived will live no longer at the hands of Master Magic. Now to get his attention."

"To the door right now, maybe we can sneak out," offered Hailey and Ginny nodded, before she followed her sister-in-law outside of the door, but large metal spikes erupted from the doorway.

"Now, that's really rude, trying to sneak out on your guest," responded Master Magic in a snide voice as Hailey was really glad that her children were at school right now and Neville had gone with Harry on his business trip to keep him out of trouble. Much less people to put in danger, even though Hailey had not had the slightest idea how her and Ginny was going to escape, as Malfoy had the entire house under complete lockdown.

-

Grace's eyes opened to the whirling of a helicopter outside. She had just vaguely remembered Rosaline getting her home after she had collapsed in exhaustion after that fight with Master Magic. She felt mostly refreshed, even though she was still slightly sore from getting knocked around by her enemy and then getting a set of bleachers dumped on her. Once the armor had been repaired, Grace vowed to take another crack at Malfoy, there was no way she was going to give up on this. She only hoped that by the time she was ready for their rematch, he had not injured too many innocent people.

At that moment, the window opened and a figure dressed all in black with a helmet entered the room which cause Grace to sit up abruptly with a start.

"You are to come with us," ordered the figure roughly but Grace quickly sprang off of her bed and knocked the figure backwards. A second one came to the window and swung a punch at her but she ducked and pulled the rug out from underneath him. He did a flip on the floor. She was so not ready for whoever these goons were without her armor and a third one tried to catch her from behind but she rolled underneath. A somersault positioned her up into the air and allowed her to grasp onto the light fixture, before she swung forward and whacked her attacker in the face. A fourth attacker had snuck in and threw a grenade at the grand, that released a knockout gas. Grace had attempted to shield her mouth and nose but it was too late, she had inhaled the gas. She felt dizzy and she dropped to the ground.

"Move in men and bring her," stated one of the shady figures, as they lifted up Grace, before they brought her to the helicopter.

-

Some time later, Grace opened her eyes, as she had sat in the middle of a chair in a darkened room.

"I must say Miss Potter, your father could have easily repelled that attack, but I suppose we can't all be Harry Potter," responded a calm voice that caused Grace who looked around for the source of the voice but found nothing.

"Who are you?" demanded Grace when she realized she was not restrained to the chair in any way.

"All will be explained shortly Grace Potter or would you prefer the Shadow Phantom?" asked the voice and Grace's eyes widened. "Please Miss Potter; it is my business to know these things I'm Agent…"

"Bishop!" gasped Grace as she saw the figure who walked out of the shadows.

"Ah, I'm pleased to see that Harry has indeed mentioned me to you, although I doubt most of his talk about me was all too pleasant," said Bishop coolly and Grace nodded, Bishop was a wildcard, sometimes you could trust him enough to work with him, but other times he had his own agenda. Grace vowed to keep an eye on this man and be very cautious around him. "And I trust you've also heard of my associate, Doctor Baxter Stockman."

"Yes, I'm sure your father has told you all those riveting tales of all the great times we've shared together," answered Stockman as he resembled a large metallic egg with spider legs, with a holographic version of his human head.

"The return of Luther Malfoy alias Master Magic, has presented a dangerous threat to the city, as you have already seen at your school," responded Agent Bishop. "More of the radioactive isotope that was used to create him was pulled back towards him, then Draco Malfoy's magical core. Granted, some of it was and it was fortunate, otherwise a nuclear blast would have occurred that would have vaporized most of the city. Still, he has stolen a project of mine, the solar suit and I don't doubt that he can reconfigure it to absorb sunlight rather than repel it. He can transmute that solar power into energy and thus become unstoppable."

"What do you want me to do about it?" asked Grace as she looked at the clock. "My Shadow Phantom armor won't be ready for another three hours at least."

"We don't have three hours, at the rate he's accumulating power," answered Bishop swiftly. "Unfortunately, thanks to recent economically mandated cutbacks, the Earth Protection Force has been sliced and my ability to create new lines of defense against the foes that threaten the security of Earth. We managed to piece together a few implements to use against Master Magic had he ever pieced himself back together and naturally, you will need a disguise so your identity would not be compromised."

Stockman carried out a black bodysuit with a mask.

"The Stealth Suit, can allow for invisibility and cloaking, based off of stolen technology during Doctor Stockman's employment with the Foot and also absorbs some magical attacks, although with Master Magic, it might be better off just not to get hit," explained Bishop. "These grenades will help stun him, dilute his power and perhaps get him in position to hit him with the Power Scrambler ray. Now you only have three grenades, so pick your shots wisely. Now once he's been weakened and in position, use this to contain him temporarily and then my men will grab him to take him to a secure holding facility."

When Grace spotted the apparatus that she was used to contain Master Magic and was a bit amused.

"This is supposed to contain a powerful being made of pure magical energy?" asked Grace.

"Yes, I realize it looks peculiar but it may cause him not to take it seriously, that is until it's too late, it has been configured only to draw in his unique magical signature, that we obtained when studying trace elements of magic and radioactivity from his first rampage nearly twenty years ago," responded Bishop coolly. "Now there is a room three doors down that you can use to make a change of outfit. After that, we will equip you with a tracking device that will allow you to locate him"

Grace nodded before she scurried off to do what she was asked. Time was in fact of the essence, the longer Master Magic was allowed to accumulate power, the more damage he could cause.

-

The golden dome still remained steady, as Master Magic managed to broadcast his message to Harry Potter over every television and radio station within broadcast distance. His face turned inside as Hailey and Ginny still attempted to find a way out, but failed.

"Potter has twenty four hours, or I'll level the entire city, starting with you two," said Luther Malfoy.

"That's if he heard you, considering Harry's halfway across the country," responded Ginny.

"Lies to cover up the fact he's a coward, to protect him from his inevitable doom, he won't work, either he comes or you two perish, that's a promise," said Master Magic coldly.

"Malfoy!" shouted a voice from below and Master Magic turned his face outwards, he had recognized that voice immediately. "I'm still not finished with you yet."

"Shadow Phantom," replied Master Magic snidely, as he detached himself from the golden dome that remained erect around the house. "If you wish to be crushed into oblivion, then who am I to deny you a request?"

Two jagged bolts of silver magical blasts shot towards the Shadow Phantom who ducked. After what happened last time, she could not get hit no matter what, another blast, especially when he appeared to accumulate even more power. His arm twisted into a sickle of sorts and he swung it at the Shadow Phantom. She pivoted around to dodge the attack, as the magic in the air sliced through a lamp post. She launched herself into the air, somersaulting to narrowly avoid the high impact blasts of magic that vaporized a couple of unfortunate birds that flew nearby. Master Magic contorted into a flat base of magical energy before he forced himself underneath the car. The car was lifted into the air and flung right at the Shadow Phantom who threw herself onto the ground and rolled out of the way to avoid the heavy hunk of metal being thrown at her.

"You can't keep up this game of cat and mouse forever, my dear," taunted Master Magic as he spat magically created fireballs at the Shadow Phantom who ducked and dodged, before she found herself in the perfect position to lob one of the grenades. The grenades spun into the air and landed right in the chest of Master Magic while he was corporeal. The sonic pulses given off by the grenade had caused Master Magic to be frozen in that state while his enemy pulled out the power scrambler ray.

"Let's see how your little powers hold up to something like this!" shouted The Shadow Phantom as she pulled a trigger and a spiral cyclone of platinum light blasted from the ray. It drilled itself right into the chest of Master Magic and caused him to pull apart in different directions. The solar suit as visible and another blast knocked Master Magic right out of the suit and caused his corporeal body to splatter against the wall, while the suit skidded to the feet of his attacker.

"NO!" shouted Master Magic as he reformed himself, severely weakened but the rest of him was inside that dome. He would sacrifice keeping his hostages in place for enough power to defeat the Shadow Phantom. The magical energies were pulled back into his essence as he stood up to his full height but the Shadow Phantom had appeared to have vanished. "Come out and fight me straight up, you meddlesome brat!"

Another grenade flew right at Master Magic and struck him right in the head. The sonic pulses had caused him to be frozen in a corporeal state once again and Grace was pleased of the stealth capabilities of this suit, even though she missed all of the other features on her armor. She pointed the Power Scrambler and pulled the trigger. Another corkscrew of platinum colored magical energy struck Master Magic right in the chest and knocked him backwards. Master Magic's arms shook before he managed to blast his power right into the ray. As a result of this attack, the Shadow Phantom became visible once again and was knocked on her back, absolutely rattled from the impact.

"The thing of my powers is that after a few times, the same attack doesn't really work," answered Master Magic as there were several breaks in his power. His hands turned into razor sharp spikes that he raised over his head "It's going to take a bit of time for my power to return but I have just enough, to finish you off like this."

Master Magic placed his foot on the chest of the Shadow Phantom that caused her to be unable to get up.

"Any last words," responded Master Magic, as if he was almost taunting that this was the end.

"Just that it's time for a little spring cleaning," said Grace, as she realized how stupid it sounded but she went on it, pulling the apparatus that Bishop had given her to contain Master Magic. He laughed, as it was for all intents and purposes, a portable vacuum cleaner.

"Do you really think that thing's going to help you now?" asked Master Magic as she switched on the vacuum cleaner. She found that his foot slid off of her chest, as a suction sound indicated that Master Magic was being pulled into the vacuum cleaner. "No, no, no, NO!!!"

The Shadow Phantom watched as inch by inch of Master Magic was sucked right into the vacuum cleaner, until he was gone, trapped inside the apparatus.

"Just wait, I'll get out of you and when I do, you'll pay," rambled Master Magic.

"I doubt he'll get out of there soon, that vacuum bag is lined with a solution made of liquefied platinum, it should hold him long enough to get him into a more permanent containment facility," answered Agent Bishop as he dropped down with several of his commandos. "Bag him and tag him boys, bring him into the helicopter."

Grace could hear a few veiled threats, as the vacuum cleaner rocked but it held Master Magic. She watched Bishop take him away but before she could ask him where to return the suit and power scrambler, he was gone into the night. The Shadow Phantom shrugged, it was not like she was going to say anything, unless Bishop did.

She stepped into the shadows, as she watched her mother leave, followed by her Aunt Hailey, who appeared to have spotted her in the shadows. As her mother left, Grace needed to quickly return home, if only she had the suit, it would be easier to get there. She stepped forward.

"Stay here for a second," said Hailey which caused Grace to stop suddenly and she turned around. "Just a bit of advice from one Phantom to another, no matter how much he deludes himself, Harry always does know in the end."

Grace was perplexed. Her aunt appeared to know who she was. She needed to do a better job in concealing her identity.

"Here's a Portkey, it should get you home before Ginny," said Hailey as she handed the Shadow Phantom a Portkey, who took it. "I know I'm not one to say anything, so I won't tell you not to do it, but do be careful at there. There are many people out there who are more dangerous than Master Magic."

"I will," said Grace as the Portkey took her home.

As she was in bed, it just hit her. Aunt Hailey and the Shadow Phantom were one and the same. She knew her hero her entire life and never even knew it. Grace thought that was kind of cool, but her aunt's warning echoed through Hailey's head. Did her father know she was the Shadow Phantom?


	5. Chapter 5: The Ultimate Virus

**Chapter Five: The Ultimate Virus**

"Movement to containment unit prepared," narrated Stockman as the commandos hauled the vacuum cleaner that contained the trapped form of Master Magic, who had long since given up his attempts to break free. Bishop watched, as he adjusted his sunglasses, as they moved over towards swirling platinum rings that would trap the very essence of Master Magic. "Just think of it Agent Bishop, all of the opportunities to study this being of ultimate power, it could be the scientific achievement of a lifetime…"

"He remains here so we can work on a way to return him to Luther Malfoy," said Bishop as Stockman's enthusiasm dulled. "As his powers continue to evolve this prison may keep him intact for a year or maybe slightly more. Soon, even platinum would not be a barrier to his immense magical powers."

"Perhaps we could continue the super solider…" stated Stockman but Bishop shook his head angrily.

"After the Pandora's box we opened with the last super solider, no, absolutely not, he's still out there as well, but…once we get Malfoy secured we can work on that particular project once again," said Bishop swiftly as the commandos pressed a button on the vacuum cleaner as the field retracted slightly to accept the former of Master Magic. All of his essence was sucked into the force field. Until that was a small power surge coursed through the lab. "What was that?"

"Just a normal…" stated Stockman but a small piece of Master Magic had just missed being placed into the force field and had taken advantage of the power surge, blasting forward past the commandos.

"Stop him," ordered Bishop as his commandos fired blast after blast of platinum colored laser fire right towards the tiny fragment. It may have been only one percent of all of Master Magic, but that one percent could pose a problem once it had drawn in enough magic. "Do not allow it to escape!"

"It's heading towards the old Triceraton spaceship computers that we salvaged," said Stockman as the tiny bit of magical fragment hopped right into the port hole of the computer. "We never managed to get that thing working, because of the dangerous advanced virus that was inside it, it nearly caused a chain reaction that melted down the lab."

"What are the consequences of a tiny bit of magic interacting with the alien virus, Stockman?" asked Bishop coolly but the computer began to sizzle, as smoke poured out of it.

"Something like that maybe," offered Stockman meekly as a red swirling vortex had poured out of the corner, before a face looked at Stockman and Bishop with disgust.

"Organics," said the virus in a female voice with disdain as it shot right into a port hole.

"Quickly, shut down that computer, it's connected to the rest of New York!" shouted Bishop but it was too late, this strange, sentient virus had already used the main computer in the lab to travel into the city. Once again, Bishop appeared to have indirectly unleashed a rather dangerous force into the world.

-

Grace Potter walked to school, a bit of a touchy mood. Perhaps it was because of the giant mutant cockroach that she fought just moments ago that knocked her around a bit and caused her to cut it close for school. Or perhaps her computer grade had slipped to just barely below passing because of her rather shoddy typing ability. Sure she did defeat Master Magic a couple of days ago, even though she got batted around pretty good and was still just barely recovered from that incident.

"Two minutes to the first bell, really cutting it close Grace," muttered Grace to herself but a group of girls who had stood outside of the school had began to giggle and Grace winced when she saw why they had began to giggle. Standing there was her ex boyfriend, Jacob Knox. He had been a Senior when she had just began to attend High School. She was a stupid girl with a crush on the Football star, but the Football star seemed to be arrogant enough to go out with a girl who fawned over him. Once she had a few dates, it was obvious that he was nothing but a controlling hot head. He had constantly accused her of seeing other guys and they had many fights until Grace finally wised up and dumped him. Of course, he tried to hit her but she had humiliated Knox with one of the moves her father had taught her in case some boy tried to take advantage of her in front of his jerk jock friends.

"Grace, I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry and I want another chance," said Knox as he held out a flower but Grace just looked at him.

"Really, because we've had this song and dance before and like a fool I accepted it," said Grace calmly. "I'm not the naïve little Freshman that you dated before, you're just not good for me. Besides, I thought you had gone away to College, so what are you doing here?"

"Dropped out, injured myself, doctors said I couldn't play again, it wasn't worth it," said Knox dully and Grace just shook her head.

"Well, good luck with your life, perhaps if you make something of yourself and actually pull your life together, I'll give you a chance, but I doubt if very much, I'm not one of your scattered brain groupies any more," said Grace as the girls looked scandalized that Grace had turned down the Jacob Knox. "Now, some of us actually do take a proactive stance towards our schooling, so I need to go."

Knox stood there, as he crushed the flower angrily in his hand. No one told him no but yet Potter just did. This was not over, not by a long shot.

-

"Everyone take a seat, today is an important lesson, one that could have information that is subject for examination, so I suggest all of you take though notes, especially those of you that are on the verge of failing," said Professor Murphy, the computer teacher, as her eyes rested on Grace. Several seats down, Andrea had a smirk on her face at the fact that Grace was failing at something that she was passing with flying colors. "Computer viruses had been around as nearly as long as computers have themselves. Created by malicious individuals looking to wreck havoc with the computers, they caused many horrific effects. Over the years, viruses as they have been original intended have basically ceased to exist based on the most advanced firewalls and virus protection software. However there new super viruses created that even the most advanced firewalls have not created. These viruses, based off of the alien technology that had been left on this planet in the Triceraton Invasion of 1995, have caused many headaches for those who had been unfortunate enough to deal with them. Even the government had just been just barely able to safe guard these computer viruses, created by the technology that is easily accessible on the black market."

Professor Murphy paused as she looked.

"Your assignment for the next eight weeks is to create a program that will be able to at least isolate even one of the most advanced computer viruses and perhaps stop them," answered Professor Murphy. "This is worth sixty percent of your final grade, so needless to say, this will make or break some of you."

Grace just barely resisted the temptation to put her head in her hands in frustration. Computer code seemed Greek to her. She averted her eyes and she saw flashing red lights outside of the window of the classroom. It caused her to pause, as everyone had prepared to go to work on their projects. Grace tried to get to work, hopefully she would stumble onto something.

"This computer isn't responding, Professor," complained one of the students. "It's locked up."

"Impossible, that computer is brand new and it's been scanned for all viruses," said Professor Murphy, as the other classmates looked over as the computer screen had began to glow odd colors. In an instant, a red face with yellow slits for eyes appeared in the computer screen. Their teacher reached forward and withdrew her hand from the computer after getting shocked when it had barely touched. "I don't know what's happening."

"Pathetic organic life, all of you will bow down before the might of the Ultimate Computer Virus," said a disembodied voice as red swirling light appeared around the inside of the classroom. "I have learned much about your pathetic lives, you live and you die by your abilities to use these primitive, earth models that can be called computers. I will infect every single computer inside the city."

Grace quickly moved over in an attempt to unplug the computer, maybe she could trap this thing now but she felt a shock and she was knocked backwards much to the amusement of Andrea.

"Foolish child, did you really think you can just pull the plug on me, I will bring this city to a halt and drain it all of its resources!" cackled the voice. "Such a simple action could not stop an advanced piece of technology like me.

"Yeah, all smug when you're inside that computer, why don't you come out here and fight, unless you're a coward!" challenged Grace as the members of the class looked at her as if she lost her mind. The face on the computer just looked at her with disinterest.

"Typical organic response," said the computer virus smugly but at that moment, the windows of the classroom were blown open, as a group of Earth Protection Force commandos slid inside.

"Move out, orders of the United States Government," said one of the commandos gruffly, as another flung metallic orbs towards the computer that contained the virus. The virus gave an angry shriek as the orbs stuck into the computer, as magnetic pulses coursed though the computer.

"Out this way, while that thing's distracted," ordered Professor Murphy and the members of the class scurried towards the door one by one, as the virus gave a shriek. The classroom was emptied, as the students stood fearfully outside, but Grace pressed her ear to the door to get a better listen.

"Second rounds, that thing cannot be allowed to leave this computer," said the commando as they flung more of the metallic orbs at the computer. Another magnetic pulse managed to do the trick but unfortunately, the virus had already found a hole in another computer linked to the network, before it moved out of the building. "It's escaped, we better report this back to Agent Bishop. He wanted word on the progress of the super virus."

One of the commandos stepped outside to address Professor Murphy.

"This lab needs to be sealed off for evidence, I trust you will find a way to take your students to another location until our investigation has concluded," said the commando.

"When will that be?" asked Professor Murphy.

"We'll let you know, but don't expect it to be soon, after the damage that virus caused," said the commando as Murphy nodded, before she ushered the students down the hallway to a free computer lab down the hallway.

Grace stood; she wondered what that thing meant when it said it was going to drain the entire city dry of all resources. Whatever it was, it could not have been good, not at all but she could barely pass a typing test. How could she even defeat a super powerful computer virus? It was sure puzzling, but that thing looked like it could break though even the most advanced protections. For once, the city could not rely on the Shadow Phantom to save the day, as much as it pained her to admit it. She hoped that Bishop and his men could find a way to contain this computer virus, before it caused enough damage to level the city.

-

Grace had not even gotten up to her room, when the two way mirror sitting on her dresser began buzzing. She moved over to the mirror and on the other side she saw Rosaline's frantic face. She sighed; it was pretty easy to tell what her cousin was contacting her about.

"Yes, I realize there is a sentient computer virus that is causing trouble throughout the city," said Grace.

"Wait a minute, how did you even know…" stated Rosaline but Grace cut her off.

"I'm clairvoyant," said Grace dryly before she shook her head. "Actually that abomination attacked the school first, the computer lab, don't know why it wanted to attack there."

"Viral they're calling it, they're trying to say it's a new strain of computer virus, but it's something much more advanced, if I'm reading the look on your face right," answered Rosaline. "Thankfully the computers here are safe, but the outside financial accounts are not. That's what worries me and Uncle Harry was over here, when he heard the news. He's freaking out and not exactly all that coherent. He's babbling about a cyber portal of some sort, to take that thing down before it causes too much more damage and wipes out everyone in the city."

"Dad's back, it must have been seriously if he had to come back before that meeting on the West Coast was concluded," said Grace to herself more than her cousin. "Still a cyber portal, I can't even begin to imagine what he was talking about."

"I happen to know Miss Potter," said a quiet voice, as Grace spun around to see Agent Bishop standing by her window, as calmly as he pleased, as she stared down the shady government agent.

"Don't you ever call before coming over?" asked Grace but Bishop ignored her.

"The cyber portal was a device developed by one of your reptile uncles, the Turtle known as Donatello," said Bishop and Grace nodded, she vaguely remembered meeting the Turtles a few times, although her memories were hazy, mostly because that was during the time she was ill. By the time the potion had been created, the Turtles had already moved out of the city and went their separate ways. She did not even know if her father had kept in touch with them. Bishop was not done explaining. "It was whipped up based off of loose Triceraton, Federation, and Utrom technology, along with a variety of other races who have paid a visit to earth over the years. For what purpose, we have yet to determined. We have never been able to get it to work, we wonder if it was ever completed."

"Well if Dad was talking about it, it must have been completed," replied Grace. "Getting this cyber portal working may be the only chance to stop Viral."

"Yes, and to get it to work, I may have to inform Mr. Potter that I have swiped the device from the lair when we stripped it down for dangerous technology when the mutants moved out," said Bishop who briefly considered the possibility of tracking down Donatello, but by the time he had gotten the mutant and returned to the city, that virus could have done some damage. "Stockman's attempting to make it work at our research facility just on the outside of the city, but whether or not he'll have any luck after almost five years of us trying everything."

"I would say I could take a crack at trying to get the portal to work, but I'm technologically illiterate, I helped build this suit granted, but Rosaline was the one who did most of the work," said Grace with a sigh, wishing she was more adept at such a thing.

"Well we had better find a way to get inside the Internet quickly, Viral has already wiped out three banks," said Bishop.

"Four banks," said Rosaline in a small voice from behind the mirror. "It just came in over the radio, the city's in a panic, it's almost like she's getting stronger and quicker."

"Time is of the essence," said Bishop as he pressed a button on his wristwatch and the holographic image of Stockman appeared. "Is the cyber portal completed yet Stockman?"

"Not yet, Agent Bishop, this is the most complicated circuitry I've ever seen and I don't dare take it apart to figure it out, after what happened the last time one of our technicians tried," said Stockman fretfully. "Give me another hour and I might be able to find a way to get inside, but I'm not making any promises."

"Our time is running out Stockman, Viral is eating through the cities finances like a hot knife through butter," said Bishop as another call came in on his communicator. "Disrupting the stock market quotations, sending Wall Street into a panic, a distraction from her cyber robbing no doubt."

Stockman broke in though the call with news; it appeared that he had solved the problem.

"I have found the problem, the Triceraton power cells, they're completely fried, they run on Super Z cells, the rarest of them all, I doubt we'll be able to locate any before the next day or so," said Stockman but Grace's expression suddenly brightened up.

"My armor, it runs off of Super Z Triceraton power cells and I have some spares stashed downtown" said Grace and Bishop responded with a nod, it appeared that they had a way to get the cyber portal working. "Bring the portal to my father's warehouse in the next fifteen minutes and it can be set up there easily, to get inside the Internet and stop Viral."

Bishop nodded crisply before he quickly moved outside of the window to the helicopter that was waiting on the building across the street, to retrieve the cyber-portal and Grace removed the locket from her back, before she pressed the buttons, to allow the Shadow Phantom armor to grow to full size, before she looked around to see no one was monitoring the house and used the propulsion devices to blast her quickly to the laboratory.

-

"Uncle Harry just left right before you got here," informed Rosaline as Grace dropped down. "He went in a hurry. He seemed absolutely frantic when he did."

"There's no doubt that he went to go look for me, to confront me about the cyber portal, I think by now he's guessed that I took it from the old lair," answered Bishop as he stepped into the picture, with a group of commandos who struggled to carry the portal, before they step it down. Stockman moved over, his metallic spider legs clicking on the ground as he plugged the cyber portal into the main computer port. Rosaline handed Bishop the Triceraton Power Cells as Stockman removed the old ones, before the new power cells were placed it. The cyber portal began to hum.

"It's working," said Stockman triumphantly as he stepped back to admire his handiwork.

"Now we need to send someone though and have them fight Viral in the virus's own digital domain," said Bishop calmly.

"I can do that," said Grace. "The Shadow Phantom armor has been equipped with a miniaturized version of the power scrambler that I used against Malfoy. Not was good, but…"

"It should do the job," concluded Bishop as he turned to the commandos. "If Mr. Potter comes back, find a way to stall him, I hope this could not take that long but remember, financial institutions are where Viral is likely to start attacking. The virus still has a small part of Luther Malfoy fused into it, so all instincts that it has will be criminal."

Grace nodded as she was ready, Shadow Phantom armor and all as she felt herself digitized, as her digitized monocles were pulled into cyber space.

-

"Can you hear me, Grace?" asked Rosaline.

"Perfectly actually, the radio in my helmet appears to not have any implications on cyber barriers," said Grace as she looked around. She stepped forward, surrounded by green walls that flowed with computer code. What they said, Grace had no idea, all she knew was that she had to keep walking. She stepped forward and saw a surge of red light, rather similar to the one in the computer lab. "Bingo."

She followed it, hoping that she could catch Viral off guard but a fight in the cyber domain would end up rather badly for her. Viral dropped down the virus turning into a corporeal form as it looked forward.

"More cash, I'll clean out every bank in this city and then the world, everything will be wiped out!" cackled Viral but a pair of shuriken were thrown at her feet. The virus spun around angrily.

"I'm afraid you've caused enough damage already, Viral," responded Grace but Viral responded, before she morphed her arms into swords.

"Foolish girl, this is my world, I have ultimate power here," shouted Viral as she rushed forward. Grace dodged the attacks, as energy blasts swirled from the swords. She sprung up and attempted a kick but the force field around Viral blasted her backwards. Grace landed on her feet and lifted her arm.

"Hope this works," muttered Grace to herself as she blasted Viral head on with the modified power scrambler. For a few brief seconds, she thought she had been successful but Viral raised her hand up as several dagger like objects rose. Grace ducked and dodged around them all, as they came close to piercing her armor. Viral's arms twisted into a cyclone and seconds later, Grace was blasted backwards into the abyss. Viral stood high up in the air and a cage appeared around Grace. Grace attempted to force her way out of the cage but Viral snapped its fingers. A large, grotesque worm rose out of the ground. The thing had glowing red eyes and razor sharp teeth, with yellow drool dripping from its mouth.

"Lunch is served, my pet," cackled Viral as the worm rose up. Grace had heard of computer worms but this thing took the cake. The worm stalked the prey, it would break through the cage but Grace would only have seconds to run, as the propulsion device in her armor was jammed. The worm slithered forward as Grace had one chance, the power scrambler. If she could hit the worm with it, it might disrupt its bits. Much like Viral, it was digitally created as well. The worm raised its jaw to bite through the digitally created bars and a blast with the power scrambler caused it to phase out. Another pair of blasts and it was incinerated into dust.

Grace managed to open the cage door with another blast but Viral was gone.

"Keep sharp Grace, Stockman's running a scan of the cities computers right now, he'll report back to Bishop in a minute, if Viral's anywhere in the city, Stockman will know," answered Rosaline through the radio and Grace nodded, as their was a few seconds pause, before her cousin relayed. Viral's close, just one level down from your current location. For lack of a better term, there's a set of stairs that should lead you down to where Viral is. She's playing with the stock quotations again."

Grace nodded as she made her way down the stairs, adjusting the frequency of her suit. She was well aware that if she burned up all of her suits power, while in cyber space, Rosaline could not remotely recharge it, but Viral had to be hit with a huge blast from the miniaturized power scrambler to shut her down for good. Viral stood at the bottom of the stairs, a sadistic grin on the virus's face.

"Foolish organic, you still don't know what you're up again, but here's a bit of a hint," said Viral wickedly as Viral blasted the ground and it began to rock, as several giant digitized monsters rose out of the ground. Four in total and that towered over her. Grace backed off as she took a deep breath. One of the monsters breathed blue fire at her. She tucked her head and rolled. The fire connected and while she was no computer expert, she could see that the monster's attack had deleted the data. Another attack but Grace back flipped behind a wall of data which was completely obliterated but it left the monster open with a shot with the power scrambler. The monster was struck right in the chest. The beast recoiled as his fellow creature blasted red lasers but Grace dodged the attack, with the lasers cutting into the ground. Another shut with the power scrambler and the head was blown off of the creature. The creature staggered around and another blast had eliminated its torso. Grace dodged a blast of blue fire from the monster she struck in the chest and it did the job in eliminating the rest of the creature.

Grace jumped up and several rapid fire blasts with the power disrupter knocked out the rest of the blue fire breathing creature. The third creature and the fourth creature mobilized for the attack. One sent sonic blasts from its mouth, the other shot spikes from its hand. Each of the attacks were equally as damaging. Grace dodged and ducked the attacks, before she pointed the power scrambler. It gave half of a small blast but it completely shorted out. Her eyes widened underneath the helmet as she ducked the deleting energy blasts.

She rolled around, as the two monsters continued to pursue her. With all of the power depleted, the Shadow Phantom armor was rather useless and she was a sitting duck. She barely dodged another sonic breath blast as she looked up but it hit her. Their attacks deleted data and the monsters were in fact data.

"Hey, cyber goons!" shouted Grace as the two creatures look up. "Can't even hit one digitized human, that's pathetic, hit me with your best shot."

The two cyber monstrosities had arisen to the challenge and shot their attacks towards Grace, who threw herself out of the way. The attacks struck each of the creatures immediately and they phased out. The teenage girl breathed a sigh of relief as she sensed power coming up. Viral had lifted her arms up and slammed it against a metal wall but it refused to budge. The computer virus had continued the attack as it blasted at the wall

"Viral's in the main computer," hissed Rosaline through the radio. "There's all kind of security features and if you play your cards right, this may be the place where you can stop Viral for good."

"Let's hope so because my suit's completely out of power," said Grace as she stepped forward and Viral kept blasting at the metal wall with energy blasts. She moved over, if there was only some way within the computer to recharge the power scrambler, it would go a long way in defeating her opponent.

"These security measures might be stronger than usual but I will break through, I'm the ultimate computer virus, nothing can stop me, nothing!" shouted Viral.

"Just keep telling that to yourself, but you're no different that the organic villains I have to deal with on a daily basis," answered Grace smugly which caused Viral to spin around, an angry expression on her face, as energy rose up out of the ground.

"You keep coming at me, when you should learn it's a futile effort, why do you stop me?" demanded Viral.

"It's called fighting for what's right, you egotistical algorithm," responded Grace. "Perhaps you should access one of those online search engines some time and look it up."

"This time I'll destroy you personally, I won't leave your demise to chance and then I'll access the database for this building, to steal all of its secrets!" shouted Viral angrily as she shot two energy blasts but Grace ducked out of the way. More attacks were just narrowly avoided as Grace leapt up and attempted to take out Viral with a double kick but she spun into energy. Grace put the breaks on and spun around, to get nearly blasted into bits with another attack. Viral's arms turned into duel iron maces. She swung the maces and charged Grace.

"Come on, those hits are weak, pathetic, an organic person can do better than that," taunted Grace, as she dodged the attacks. The mace swung but Grace avoided the attack. More swings with the mace and Grace managed to detach a sharp end of the arm of her outfit. A swing chopped one of Viral's arms off. The virus screamed and Grace dodged around, to swing her feet and knock Viral hard into the metal wall that was the personification of the security protocols.

"You really though it would be that easy to defeat me in my own domain!" shouted Viral and all of the sudden, red ropes shot out of the ground where Grace stood and wrapped around her. The ropes contracted, as they attempted to crush her in her own armor like a tin can. "This is not the real world where you can just attack a criminal a few times and it will be over, this is the cyber world and here I have infinite power!"

"Not to mention an infinite ego," fired back Grace but she had difficultly breathing.

"Shredder," muttered Rosaline through the headset.

"What about him?" asked Grace in confusion.

"Not that one, there's a shredder that can delete computer files to the right of your current location, if you can lure Viral into it…" stated Rosaline and Grace had no need for her cousin to finish.

"Gotcha," said Grace as she detached the second sharp end of the other arm before she managed to hack her way through the ropes. Viral shot some more attacks off, as she saw the device that her cousin indicated off to the side. Grace dodged the attacks as Viral shot more ropes but the girl hacked her way through the attacks, as she slowly moved in position with her back to the shredder. "Come on, surely for being a superior computer creation, you can hit me with a better attack. Hit me with your best shot, fire away."

More blasts but Grace dodged every one of the attacks as Viral moved in for the attacks. Grace had her back as Viral shot right at her, but fortunately, she dodged out of the way. The computer virus's eyes widened as she had threw too much power into her attacks. Viral flew right into the shredder, as the cyber equivalent of blades began to spin around, to hack her into bits. Several pieces of data she stole flew out to return to its locations.

"No, no, I'll get out, you foolish organic child, you haven't seen the last of me!" shrieked Viral as she was ripped into pieces, before her essence was deleted and scattered all over cyber space, too weak to mount an attack.

"And that's the end of Viral," said Grace in triumph before she collapsed and she felt her particles get digitized and seconds later, she was on the cyber portal. When she looked up, Rosaline sat there, but Bishop and his commandos were gone, almost as quickly as they appeared.

"Bishop left when he saw that you had Viral finished off, he told me to tell you thank you for the assistance, now we need to get your armor repaired and recharged, before we get this cyber portal back to Uncle Harry," responded Rosaline and Grace nodded, it had been a long hard fight but she had triumphed in the end, just by the skin of her teeth.


	6. Chapter 6: Seize the Day

**Chapter Six: Seizing the Moment. **

Under the guise of the Shadow Phantom, Grace Potter crouched down on the ledge of a building, as she saw a trio of hoods enter a building. The security was rather lax as she dropped down to make her move. Not all criminals were going to be a giant mutant gecko, a being made of pure magical energy that had near infinite power, or a dangerous sentient computer virus that could bring the entire city to the knees. Sometimes they were just cheap thugs that barely amounted to much of anything.

When she saw of them attempt to pry open the door, she leapt down and made her move. She stuck to the shadows as the trio of punks attempted to fumble with the door. They were not Techno-Mages, otherwise they would have blown the door with their wands.

"Hurry up and get this sucker open, do you want to get nabbed by the police," said one of the thugs in a testy voice as he attempted to pry the door open but the Shadow Phantom dropped down and tapped him on the shoulder.

"I'm pretty sure that breaking and entering in the first place is a good way to get nabbed by the police," said the Shadow Phantom coolly and the thug gritted his teeth before he charged her. She ducked a wild swing with the crowbar and another swing just did not even come close to connecting before the plasma blaster disarmed the thief and a kick to the face knocked the thug back before a net completely wrapped him into place. The two thugs pulled guns out and took fire to her. "Really, bullets? Actual guns? People still use those things when laser blasters are so easily available."

The bullets naturally bounced off of her armor and four metal rings shot out, to wrap up the thieves.

"Well that was fun, but what will I do with the rest of the afternoon?" asked the Shadow Phantom as she shook her head. "Guess I better head on home, but first the police will be by at any minute to pick you goons up. Perhaps it will teach you a lesson about breaking and entering."

With that, the Shadow Phantom disappeared, leaving the goons to struggle.

-

"My men were hauled off to jail!" shouted a loud rotund man as a wiry man with greasy black hair and a goatee stepped back. "You said that security was lax at that building but yet I find three of my best men in jail."

"Freddie, it was her, the Shadow Phantom, she managed to foil the robbery and handily defeat our men, her armor and abilities are far beyond anything we can comprehend," said the greasy man as he looked at his boss, Freddie the Slug, who was a small time mob boss with big aspirations to seize control of the criminal underworld. "We need better weapons, the men are fine, but the weapons…"

"We don't have Techno-Mage resources, that robbery was supposed to get us into the big time, but my men could not pull off the heist thanks to that meddling Shadow Phantom," said Freddie the Slug as he banged his hands on the table. "How are we supposed to rise to the top when our bullets don't even pierce that armor?

"Boss believe me, I know, but our men…" stated Barone but Freddie the Slug banged his fat fists on the desk.

"No excuses, either you figure out a way to defeat this Shadow Phantom and the Techno-Mages, or I will fit you for a cement overcoat, Barone, is that clear?" barked Freddie the Slug and Barone nodded fearfully.

"Absolutely boss, I'll find a way, I won't fail you ever again," said Barone as he backed off as his boss sank down into his chair, before he sank his teeth into a large pastry. "Where am I going to find a way to defeat the Shadow Phantom? Every time any of our men go up against her, they get stomped; they can't compete with all the gadgets on that suit."

"Then you must have something to compete with her, Mr. Barone," said a cold voice and Barone's eyes snapped up, to see a figure in a purple robe, a hood pulled over his face, with black gloves on his hands.

"Who are you?" demanded Barone. "How did you get in here? Our security is foolproof…"

"No security is foolproof and as for who I am, a friend, someone who is willing to give you the means to defeat a problem you have been suffering, in fact a number of problems," responded the mysterious figure as he removed a suitcase from behind his back and pulled out what appeared to be an ordinary pistol.

"A pistol, you think a pistol is going to be able to defeat the Shadow Phantom or the Techno-Mages?" asked Barone in disbelief but the hooded figure gave a dry laugh before he pointed the pistol.

"Perception does not always equal reality, Mr. Barone," said the hooded figure calmly as he pointed the pistol at a stack of boxes. "Observe."

He pulled the trigger and a yellow light erupted from the pistol, hitting the boxes, vaporizing them in an instant. Barone's eyes grew wide at what happened but he shook his head.

"So you can vaporize a few boxes with your little toy, how can I be sure that could work against real opponents?" asked Barone and the hooded figure did not even flinch, rather he pointed the pistol towards the door. A blast had obliterated the metal door in a blink of an eye, turning it completely to dust. "Okay I'm convinced but the question is exactly how much are these little babies going to cost me?"

"Not one cent, all I ask for you is to eliminate a threat by the name of Harry Potter," said the hooded figure calmly and Barone was taken aback. He had heard the stories about Potter in the past, he had been someone who the criminal underworld was absolutely terrified of, a true legend. The hooded figure dropped a suit case full of not only the pistols, but a variety of weapons that had destructive potential. "Potter will cross through Central Park at approximately three twenty tomorrow after noon. Eliminate him then and anyone who stands in your way. That is your payment."

"What do you have against this Potter anyway?" asked Barone curiously but the hooded figure refused to answer the question but he just cracked his knuckles calmly.

"Just eliminate Potter and the weapons will be yours, they will make you masters of the city," answered the hooded figure, before he appeared to vanish into thin air, leaving Barone looking at the suitcase full of goodies he had to play with. Freddie the Slug would be pleased, in fact, Barone decided to decline telling his soon to be former boss about these goodies at all. First he vowed to defeat the legendary Potter, then eliminate the Shadow Phantom and the Techno-Mages, before he would rise to the top of the New York City criminal underworld. With the new advanced technology, no one could touch him. Barone moved off, to find a few bad men that he would share his technology with to rule this city with an iron fist.

-

Grace arrived in her computer classroom the next day. Andrea and a couple of her sycophant friends were whispering about something, with the snide girl looking rather annoyed.

"The Shadow Phantom that's all anyone wants to talk about anyone, since she showed up!" cried Andrea in a horrified tone of voice. "Even Potter doesn't annoy me as much as the Shadow Phantom. All I hear about is how the Shadow Phantom stopped some robbery. How the Shadow Phantom defeated a mutant cockroach! How the Shadow Phantom saved the city from a sentient computer virus. Over and over again, she's nothing special. The armor she wears, its wretched. She shows no fashion sense at all but why do people keep talking about her?"

"Sounds like you're jealous that someone else is the center of attention, Radcliffe," interrupted Grace with a smirk on her face as Andrea turned.

"That Shadow Phantom, she thinks she's so smug, I bet she's all disgusting and ugly under that mask," said Andrea. "She's a bigger fraud that you Potter, people think you're both so special. It's disgusting."

"So is hearing your voice but we put up with that," remarked Grace which caused the class to laugh.

"Just wait, the Shadow Phantom will be exposed as the fraud she is, you'll see," said Andrea smugly. "She's nothing but a vigilante who recklessly endangers the lives of all of his good people. She shouldn't get all of that attention."

"Alright everyone, settle down," said Professor Murphy as she pushed the door open and walked into the classroom, followed by a fairly attractive young man, wearing glasses with long black hair and blue eyes. Grace watched him as he entered the classroom, with a nervous smile on his face. "Today, we have a new student, a transfer, who will join us for the remainder of the semester. I hope you will welcome Steven Torbin."

Torbin gave a nervous wave, toppling over a chair accidentally in the process, which caused Andrea and her group of her sycophants to be rather amused. Grace shot them a nasty look, the poor boy was most likely nervous, it was his first day, his first class, in a brand new school. He did not know anyone. It reminded Grace of the time she first attended public school after spending her entire childhood in sick and most bedridden.

"Right, Mr. Torbin, take the vacant seat to the right of Miss Potter," said Professor Murphy calmly, as Steven made his way over, to sit down in the chair next to Grace, nearly bumping into the side of the desk, but he appeared to be rather more confident once he was in front of a computer screen. Grace found herself watching him, with interest, before the voice of Professor Murphy brought her out of her thoughts "Alright, we continue our work on virus detection and elimination, I trust all of you have been hard at work on your methods to contain them."

-

"Alright everyone move the stuff into the truck," said a vicious Techno-Mage by the name of Khan, as he supervised the efforts of his fellow Techno-Mages hauling the spoils of today's heist into the back of a truck. He had been promoted to replace the mutated Mondo, who had since been locked away in a secure government facility.

"I don't think the Shadow Phantom's coming right now, she would have been here by now," said one of the Techno-Mages.

"Foolish imbeciles, she might not have come as of yet, but she's been known to bungle up some operations in the past, "X" wants these components today, we must not let the Master down," said Khan roughly as he cracked his knuckles and the Techno-Mages lifted their techno wands to activate the levitation ray in them, to lift the crates up with ease.

"Actually, the Shadow Phantom is the least you have to worry about, boys," said Barone as he walked up with a group of mobsters, all armed but the Techno-Mages exchanged looks, before they exploded into laughter. A couple of them could barely stand, even though Khan remained as humorless as ever.

"Well if it isn't Freddie the Slug's little men playing gangsters," said one of the Techno-Mages in a mocking tone. "Ah, think you can hang with the big boys, but really you're a bit pathetic. We can waste you with one hand tied behind our back and the other helping you. Come on give us your best shot and we'll take it before we throw it back to you."

"So you think you can take us, men, ear muffs on," said Barone as he placed a pair on ear muffs on, the other men did the same as he removed a sonic grenade from his pocket before he threw it towards the ground. The Techno-Mages pointed their wands but suddenly a blast of vibrations had knocked the Techno-Mages off their feet. They collapsed to the ground, clutching their ears, as they were in absolute pain. The sounds had nearly split their skulls and come perilously close to reducing their ear drums to mush. Meanwhile, Barone and his men secured the back of the truck containing the stolen items, with the gangsters climbing in the back of the truck. Barone climbed up to the front before he placed the key in the ignition as the sonic grenade continued to keep the Techno-Mages at bay. Barone hit the gas, leaving the Techno-Mages on the ground, groaning in absolute pain and discomfort. After they were a safe distance away, Barone and his men removed the ear muffs before he looked over his shoulder. "One little grenade and those Techno-Mages were on their backs. Just think of what these weapons can really do once we really get to try them out. We'll rule the city!"

The gangsters looked pleased, as they held the pistols in their hand. Their boss had shown them how they worked and it could blast open a bank vault with no problem.

"But first, our benefactor wants us to take care of a little piece business, that Potter punk, we need to get to the park by the appointed time, so we can blast him then the weapons will be ours!" declared Barone with a smug look. "Potter doesn't stand a chance. He's washed up, over the hill. He's done, we can wipe him out with these goods.

The gangsters looked pleased. They had only heard stories of Harry Potter, from older family members who had encountered him, along with those mysterious turtle creatures, back in the day. It was said that Potter could move buildings with his mind and obliterate entire towns with a mere gesture, but with this alien technology they now acquired, they could match this legendary boogeyman of the criminal underworld.

-

Grace walked to her lunch period but she heard footsteps following her. She turned around to see Steven standing right there, he looked slightly nervous but she gave him an encouraging smile.

"I noticed you were struggling in class, with trying to figure out the code for your virus program," said Steven calmly, as he seemed to be in his element talking about computer programming. "Not that I'm trying to judge, it took me a few years to get everything down as well…started when I was about eleven or twelve you see, it's just a matter of moving your semi colon one line down and you should get the program."

"Really, that's great, figures it would be something that simple," replied Grace gratefully as she looked at Steven. "Grace Potter by the way."

"Surely not the daughter of the famous entrepreneur Harry Potter," said Steven with interest which caused Grace to have a slight frown before he quickly shook his head. "I mean, I'm sure you have people fawn over you all the time because of how rich your father is…it's just that…I've been following his work for sometime and it's just amazing some of the achievements he has under his belt. It's almost like magic how good he is."

"You have no idea," responded Grace with a knowing smile, stating this comment under her breath. "So how long have you been in New York?"

"A couple of days, only had enough time to move my stuff in and get into school," responded Steven in a bit of a nervous voice. "It's a bit overwhelming, this city, it can be so crowded and busy, especially if you don't know exactly where you're going."

"I can see your point, I've lived here my entire life, it's second nature to know your way around New York after that time, but I can see very easily exactly why an outsider would find everything to be very overwhelming," said Grace in a sympathetic tone of voice.

"Well if you know everything so well, then maybe you could be my guide, to show me around the city," answered Steven and Grace could tell he was nervous. She was not that intimidating really. "I mean, if you want to, I'm sure I can manage just as well…"

"No, I'd love to er I mean no problem," said Grace as a blush appeared on her cheeks that she turned slightly.

"Then it's a date," said Steven before his eyes widened when he realized what he said. "That came out wrong didn't it?"

"Yes, but I wouldn't think much of a figure of speech," answered Grace. "So after school then, at Central Park, you know where that is?"

"Yes, I do, I'll see you then," replied Steven as he walked off with Grace standing there, before she turned walk off to lunch.

-

Harry Potter was in a foul mood, mostly having to do with the recent attitude of the Chief Executive Officer of the American Wizarding Government. Montague had just gotten worse, just burying his head in the sand about these Techno-Mage incidents. The mutants that showed up obviously pointed that they were using the elemental fusion chamber that was stolen many years ago. Those wands were some strange combination of magic and technology, that threatened both the magical and Muggle worlds. The person behind it was a criminal mastermind of the most dangerous.

All of the sudden several figures dressed in suits walked forward. Harry paused for a brief second, he had a sixth sense about these kinds of things, but still, there should not be anything strange about men in suits. Unless of course they carried what appeared to be high tech laser blasters.

"Ah Harry Potter, right on schedule," said Barone.

"Mobsters, I take it," said Harry in a bored voice, as he leaned on his cane, with an obvious lack of interest. "Eat them for breakfast, you see. Look up a man named Hun sometime, and he'll tell you some stories about what I did to his Purple Dragons."

"We'll see who eats who for breakfast, Potter," said Barone but in an instant, Harry caught one of the mobsters with a glancing blow with an uppercut that shattered his jaw from the impact. Before they could even begin firing, another mobster was taken down roughly by the arm as Harry dodged around. "Keep firing you mugs!"

Despite a bum leg, Harry managed to maneuver around all of the attacks, until Barone lifted miniature cannon and fired. Unfortunately, Harry felt a stabbing pain in his leg, drastically him for one too many seconds. A black harness with tentacles protruding from the back flew towards Harry. The harness snapped over his chest and the tentacles, almost on their accord, wrapped his arms behind his back and his legs together. Harry dropped to the ground as the mobsters pointed their weapons at them. They appeared to be sonic weapons of some sort, beyond anything he had ever seen and in his life, Harry James Potter had seen quite a lot.

"Time to die, Potter," said Barone, as his men pointed the sonic weapons to the head of Harry, ready to eliminate him for good.

Grace Potter arrived at Central Park, for her meeting with Steven and had seen a disturbance. Her head popped up as she realized that her father was fighting a bunch of men in suits, packing sonic blasters. Grace watched at a safe distance, as her father, despite his bad leg, had schooled the mobsters, at least until one greasy haired mobster had blasted him with a odd cannon that immobilized him.

"Dad," muttered Grace fearfully as she removed her locket from the bag. Her father struggled but even he could not get out in time Her meeting with Steven could most certainly wait, it was time for the Shadow Phantom to move into action.

"Time for us to bid you adieu," said Barone as Harry very nearly managed to get his wand in position to cut himself free, but it looked like his time had just about run out. Two of the mobsters closest aimed the blasters but before they could fire them, two ropes tied around them and jerked them up, causing the blasts to blow up into the air and connect with some unsuspecting birds.

The mobsters turned around to eat a kick to the face from the Shadow Phantom. Another mobster aimed the sonic blaster at her but it was ducked and an enhanced punch put him flat on his back.

"Never mind her, aim the blasters at Potter!" yelled Barone, as he wound up a sonic grenade, thankfully they already had ear protection on. The sonic grenade was flung right at the Shadow Phantom and a loud explosion caused her to fly backwards into a tree.

Grace bit her tongue as her arm cracked to the ground at an awkward angle. The crunch of the bones indicated that she had broken her right arm. Thankfully her suit had protected her from being blasted to bits from the grenade or injured by the sound, even though it knocked her off balance. And the broken arm was nothing to right home about. She watched as her father cut himself free before he used his cane to knock the blaster out of the hand of one of the mobsters, before hitting a second blaster with a Reducto curse. The blaster overloaded and Grace rolled underneath a shower of blood and body parts.

The mobsters kept coming, as she struggled to get to a standing position, shutting out the pain of a broken arm. Her father managed to propel one of the mobsters into a tree viciously.

"Keep at him, don't let him up!" shouted Barone as he shot a sonic blast towards Harry, the sound waves ripping through the air, but a shield charm just barely blocked it. When the charm was cut down, Barone threw several metal spiked orbs to the ground. They released a sickly green gas, which caused Harry to become dizzied.

The Shadow Phantom moved over but a powerful blast knocked her straight back first into a tree. She hit with a thud, the armor just barely holding itself together as Barone held a laser pistol, with an amused look on his face.

"And I just have this thing on half power," replied Barone swiftly as he looked down at the Shadow Phantom before he gave another blast that sent her into the air before she crashed down to the ground. "Just think of what I can do with this thing at maximum blast, I could blow that little tin suit right off of you and see who is inside."

Barone moved over, as a dizzied Harry was on the ground, he could barely hold his head up.

"Perhaps later, as right now, I've got a job to complete," said Barone as he pointed the blaster right towards Harry's head and prepared to blast his skull in but at that moment, a large black robot with glowing yellow eyes dropped down from the ground, with laser cannons built into each arm. It began to shoot at Barone, who was caught off guard.

-

"My new cyberdroid has located the mobsters, Master," said Jammerhead calmly.

"Good, eliminate them and find that truck, it is needed," responded "X" from the shadows.

"I don't believe it, the Shadow Phantom, the perfect opportunity…" stated Jammerhead.

"Stay focused, the Shadow Phantom is not the objective of this mission, Jammerhead," replied "X" coldly.

-

"I don't know what you are but this should cut you down to scrap metal," said Barone as he cranked up the power on the laser pistol and impacted it viciously in the chest. A second shot did not even come close as the pistol was blasted from his hand. Barone backed off as a net was shot from the cyberdroid.

Grace lifted her head up, her entire body felt rattled. She never thought she would be happy to see one of those metal monstrosities. A net was just avoided by Barone, who picked up a sonic grenade and with expert precision threw it right at the cyberdroid. The grenade exploded, sending loud ear splitting sound waves from all who were unfortunate enough to be close, but the cyberdroid was unharmed before it shot a miniature rocket from its finger, knocking Barone backwards. Barone reached into his bag, he hoped he could find something and sure enough, he found a large bazooka, one of more dangerous weapons that his contact handed him.

"Say hello to my little friend," said Barone viciously as he aimed the bazooka at the cyberdroid. A large rocket ripped through the air and impacted right into the metal of the cyberdroid. The rocket exploded, to send acid all throughout the robot that caused it to malfunction. "Impressive little thing you are my friend, now I believe we have some business to conclude with...Potter?"

Barone looked around, his enemy had disappeared and the second he turned around, his arms and legs slammed together, causing him to drop the bazooka as Harry stood there, wand in hand, as he picked up his cane, before he levitated the bazooka into the air, to examine it as the other mobsters were incapacitated. He was intrigued and he turned his back to allow the Shadow Phantom to sneak away.

Grace pulled herself up, she could barely fight through the broken arm, but since her father was distracted, it would be the perfect time to get home. Ignoring the pain in her broken arm, she moved over to a safe location, as she slipped through the shadows, to remove her armor. That was not going to be a fun experience. In fact, she would be surprised if every blasted bone in her arm was not shattered because of that bloody sonic grenade.

-

"Grace, what's the matter?" asked Ginny in concern as she saw her daughter stagger in, clutching her arm in pain, favoring it.

"Broke my arm, I took a spill down the steps of the library, I thought it wasn't that bad at first, but it hurts," said Grace, as she gave the explanation that she had thought up for her parents.

"Sit down, I can fix that immediately," answered Ginny and Grace obeyed her mother, sitting down immediately. With a tap of her wand, Ginny had managed to fix Grace's arm in minutes.

"Thanks Mum," said Grace gratefully.

"No problem at all, just be more careful next time," said Ginny, who briefly wondered if her daughter was holding off some information on exactly how she suffered that broken arm. Not that she would get anything, Grace was just as stubborn as her father was. Speaking of which, Harry was hard at work in something in the next room, so Ginny moved inside to see.

"Hi, Ginny," replied Harry, as he took apart the cannon that he had confiscated from Barone.

"Might I ask what that is?" asked Ginny.

"You may but I'm trying to figure out what it is myself," said Harry, as he looked at the cannon, in confusion, it was rather unlike anything he had ever seen. "Whomever gave the technology to these mobsters, they have capabilities beyond this world."

"You're not going to worry about this, are you Harry?" asked Ginny even though she knew the answer, regardless of what Harry said.

"I'm worried but I'm not going to be bothered, the battle I had with the mobsters proved that I'm not as good as I used, mostly due to my leg, but other because of all of the beatings I've suffered, it's worn me down," said Harry, as he got to his feet, before he enveloped his wife into a hug and kissed her. "The world existed for years before me, I'm sure its not going to fall apart without me putting out every little fire. Besides there are others who are more than capable with dealing the problems."

-

Barone sat in his jail cell, stripped of all of his weapons. Being in here would be better, as Freddie the Slug would kill him once he found out he attempted to usurp his organization. Barone tapped his foot, as he looked up. A black hole appeared right above his cell. He got up to shout that there was something wrong but several tentacles snaked from the hole. They wrapped around the arms and legs of Barone, before they pulled him up into the black hole. The hole sealed itself right behind him. He was surrounded by red skies and pits of green fire, before he turned to the cloaked form of his secret benefactor.

-

Grace walked down the hallway, before she saw Steven standing in the hallway, looking around. She slapped herself mentally. She had nearly forgotten that she had promised to show him around the city. Grace felt she really blew that one, as she walked over but before she opened her both, Steven cut her off.

"Grace, I'm sorry, I tried to contact you last night, but something came up that caused me not to be able to make our meeting," replied Steven in an apologetic voice as he looked at Grace.

"Really, that's odd, because something came up last night for me as well," said Grace who could not believe her luck, mentally breathing a sigh of relief that she would not come off as a jerk.

"So, if it's alright, we can do it after school tonight, same place," said Steven and Grace nodded.

"That'd be fine," said Grace as she walked forward, hoping that there would be no crime for a couple of hours that did not require her attention.

-

"Barone you have failed me," said the cloaked benefactor as Barone trembled. "I give you my greatest weapons and you lose to a weakened wizard and a little girl in a costume."

"Forgive me, I failed you, I apologize, it won't happen again, next time I'll get Potter," said Barone fearfully, as the air was cold and unwelcoming.

"There will not be a next time and as for you not failing me again, you are correct on that as well," said the cloaked figure as he hoisted Barone into the air. Barone kicked his limbs, it was almost like he was being forced against his will to rise by some invisible force. He was dropped right into a pit of green fire, where the flames burned him into nothingness within moments.

The cloaked figure turned around, before it faced off into a canyon, where several shadowed figures stood.

"Soon my children, we will destroy Harry Potter, soon we will destroy the Shadow Phantom and those Turtles, along with anyone else who gets in our way," said the cloaked figure as he cast his vision downwards. "They will suffer the wrath of Doomquest."


	7. Chapter 7: Wraith

**Chapter Seven: Wraith**

"Well, Mr. Knox, I believe everything is in order here," said a smartly dressed man in a suit, as he looked over Jacob Knox, who had a dopey grin on his face. "We do have a position open for someone of your stature and if you continue to work hard, you'll be cleaning up really soon."

"Thanks, I'll do my best," said Knox who needed this job so he could earn enough money to buy a nice gift to buy his girlfriend back. She had heard she was with someone else, most likely to make him jealous but what did this computer nerd have that he did not. "So what technical job do you have for me?"

"As I said, you'll be cleaning up as the new janitor," said the man in the suit. "It pays three dollars an hour and you work four hours a day. Perhaps you should have gotten to College on a little more than a football scholarship if you wanted a better job that might actual give you hope for the future."

"Hey man, I'm something, I'll prove it, I'll show you all," said Knox but the man in the suit just had a humorless expression on his face, refusing to even acknowledge what this kid had said.

"You can begin by sweeping up over there, it is a pleasure to you have as part of the team," said the suited man dryly as Knox took the broom and began to sweep up the best, as the man who hired him. At least he was getting paid, that was more than he could say prior to today. He could continue at this for a while and maybe make enough to win Grace back.

He moved towards a door which was slightly ajar and he heard two men speaking in a lab area. He paused, under the pretext that he was adjusting his broomstick.

"I have managed to gain the sample from Master Magic as you requested Agent Bishop," remarked Stockman. "This small DNA sample should give us a better clue of what makes him tick. Then we could create an antidote."

"Excellent Stockman. The sooner the better, the power he possessed is something that we can ill afford to happen. He was nearly invincible last time. Now get to work with it, put it in the vault, I must be off, I have many duties that must be fulfilled today," said Bishop calmly as Knox's eyes widened. Even he knew what it meant to have invincibility, perhaps he had a future beyond this meaningless dead end job. He could have his life back. He peeked in the door, there was nothing in here but an egg shaped object.

"Okay that invincibility thing has to be around here somewhere," muttered Knox as he walked in and searched around but stopped at a clicking noise, as something approached him.

"What are you doing in here?" asked Baxter Stockman coldly as he prepared to attack with the weapons aboard his body.

"I'm the uh, janitor, and I need to clean up," said Knox.

"Ah yes, start over there, the floor is dusty and it's interfering with my concentration," said Stockman but Knox was distracted by the vial in the metallic arm of Stockman, it was filled with swirling black energy that glowed. He reached forward and snatched the vial in an instant.

"That looks dusty to me," said Knox with a goofy grin as Stockman realized what happened and pointed his laser blasters at him.

"Hand that over you fool, you don't know the power you have in your hands," said Stockman but Knox had managed to dive over the table, avoiding a stream of laser fire, as he rolled around. He knew exactly what he held in his hands, it was what he needed to win his girlfriend back. He opened up the vial, before he grabbed a syringe. He tipped it, as the energy swirled inside of the syringe. The syringe vibrated in his hand, the energy swirling into it. Stockman blasted the table out of the way, before he pointed his weapons towards Knox. "Now I…no you fool, what are you doing?"

Knox stabbed the syringe into his arm. He felt light headed and rather ill, as the energy appeared to pass through his body. Stockman looked on in numb shock. They had made a few modifications to stabilize that sample in order to find a cure to turn Master Magic back until Luther Malfoy, there was no telling what would happen once it was introduced into the human blood stream. He prepared to call for help as Knox began to have a seizure, limbs thrashing around violently.

"This is Stockman, bring all available medical personnel to lab three, we have a situation, send help immediately, I repeat we have a situation, send help immediately," said Stockman as he turned, the figure had stopped moving and he had appeared to melt into the floor. There was nothing but a black puddle of ooze on the floor and Stockman moved forward, to add to his communication, but a shadowed hand rose from the ground, before it grabbed onto the shadows of Stockman's legs. Stockman gave a surprised gasp as his robotic shell was hoisted up into the air, but a seemingly invisible force. The scientist was heaved across the room and landed right on the floor in a crumpled heap.

The shadow moved from the room, blending into the other shadows, as a group of uniformed personnel moved in as Stockman's robotic limbs were jerking out of control.

"The person, the janitor, he evaporated, but right now, I need a medic, a mechanic, anything," said Stockman as sparks flew from his damaged robotic body, as it was obvious that the person who threw him and the janitor melting into a pile of black goo obviously had a connection. The modified DNA of Master Magic had given him the power to manipulate objects through their shadows.

-

Grace Potter had fought many tough opponents under the guise of the Shadow Phantom that had tested her abilities to the fullest extent. None had tested her patience more than babysitting her seven year old cousin Franklin Longbottom or as everyone called him, Frankie. He was alright, sometimes, but he was a hyperactive brat tonight and was really getting on her nerves. She wished she had not owed Rosaline this favor that allowed her to take the night off from babysitting her brother and left Grace with the unfortunate task. Both of their parents were out of town for the next couple of days on business to do with Grace's father's companies.

"Grace, look what I can do!" yelled Frankie as climbed to the couch and bounced up and down before doing a somersault off of it. Grace winced, little kids were truly fearless, they had no knowledge of their own limitations but she was afraid that her little cousin was going to break something.

"That's nice, but not in the house, Frankie, you'll get hurt or break something, why don't you sit down and watch television or something," said Grace who was at her wits end. She had spent a fair bit of time with Steven recently, they were not really dating technically but she had much more in common with him then she did with her previous boyfriend.

"Cool, the Shadow Phantom, she beat up a bunch of bad guys," said Frankie with glee in his eyes as he watched the news, sure enough, it detailed her latest altercation with the Techno-Mages, even though the group of thugs were not named "I don't know why you couldn't be that cool, Grace, the Shadow Phantom can do anything. No one can stop her, she's not boring like you."

"Well not all of us can be cool," said Grace as she looked out the window. The city looked and sounded quiet for tonight, not that she could do anything as her cousin had flipped through the channels, while bouncing up and down. She wondered if he had an off switch.

-

A bank security guard moved to close up for the night but little did he know that a mysterious shadow travelled down the pathway. The shadow got closer, as it edged towards him, until it crept up behind the guard as he was about to close the door. Black tentacles reached into the guard, as the guard's expression went dreamy, before he robotically walked inside towards the bank vault. He lifted his hand up and turned the combination on the safe, before he walked inside with several stacks of cash inside. The guard monotonously lifted the stacks of cash into his hand, before he walked outside towards a truck, where someone had foolishly left their keys in the ignition. He placed the stacks of money on the front seat as the shadow left him.

"Huh, what's…" stated the guard but he paused as a truck right beside him had began to drive off on its own accord. The guard's eyes widened, he had seen some strange sights in all of his years in New York City, but this was the strangest of them all.

-

Grace sank down into her chair.

"Rosaline should be around here by midnight, to collect her little bother er brother," muttered Grace as she sat down in front of the television to catch the news. She clicked on the news and almost immediately, she regretted doing so.

"Our top story tonight, several major robberies, including a bank, a jewelry store, and a sporting goods store," said the newscaster. "Items have been taken but there has been no clue as to the suspect or anyone being seen. The guards in charge of security have all said their minds went blank for a minute, and then when they woke up, a truck drove away on its own accord. While this may seem a bit absurd, police are following every and all leads."

"Okay, the Shadow Phantom is needed, because this does seem right up her freak show alley," responded Grace but she sighed. "However certain responsibilities must come first and I'm sure whomever is behind these mysterious crimes will still be there in the morning."

Right then the door creaked open. Grace froze, expecting her cousin to come by to pick up her annoyance of a brother. Unfortunately there was no one around. Grace stood, in a trick that she picked up from both of her parents, she could sense someone and what she could sense was not friendly. Not by a long shot, as Grace stood in a rather rigid manner.

"Grace, Grace," whispered a voice in the distance and Grace stood, ready to attack anything. This mysterious voice had caused the hairs on the back of her neck to prickle up. She did not move, looking from right to left.

"Rosaline, is that you?" asked Grace in an urgent voice. "If this is a prank, it isn't a funny one."

"It's me, Grace, Jacob, you know, the boyfriend you ditched because something better came on, because something better came along, you know me, of course a perfect little princess like you would not remember anyone like me," responded the voice of Jacob Knox.

"What happened?" asked Grace.

"Oh, now you care," said Knox in a bit of a snide voice. "You may be beautiful on the outside, but on the inside you are a horrid little bitch you uses everyone. Radcliffe was right about you, you pushed me to this, but perhaps I should be taking you, for turning me into this."

"What do you mean?" demanded Grace who did not like this at all. "What did I do?"

"You did this," responded Knox in a humorless voice, as Grace backed off in horror because of a demon shadow appearing in front of her, with sickly yellow eyes. "I can possess anything I touch; I can touch the shadows of objects and make them work how I want them to. I am invincible, untouchable, but if you had not degraded me, telling me to better myself, I would have never gotten this gift. I would have never had a chance to inject myself with that weird chemical. So I thank you. Now I have power beyond anything. I guess I can better myself now when I pick this city dry and no one can stop me."

"You're mad, raving," said Grace as she stepped backwards. Techno Mages and Mutants she could handle. Demon shadows that happened to be her psychotic ex boyfriend were another thing entirely. She looked at Knox, who looked back at her, with a twisted smile.

"Raving am I, well this entire city is raving about me and soon I will be even more famous than I was when I was the star quarterback of the high school football team," said Knox pompously as he circled Grace. "And now I will be with you every moment, every time you turn around, I will be lurking in the shadows, watching your every move, my dear Grace. Isn't that great?"

"No that's rather creepy, it's really spooky, but you've seem to become even more of an obsessive stalker since you gained your powers," said Grace as she backed off but she saw a hand back hand her shadow and she suddenly was knocked backwards, causing her to spiral to the ground. She was on the ground as the demonic shadow circled around her.

"You will learn to respect me, you little whore!" thundered Knox loudly and Grace rolled her eyes. "I have real power and you are nothing but a pampered little girl who thinks she is something because her Daddy is rich."

Before Grace could say anything, Rosaline was walking up the drive. She picked a very bad time to collect her brother.

"Grace, I'm sorry I'm late…" stated Rosaline but she paused, as the demon shadow turned to her, with a predatory look in its eyes. Its shadowed hands lifted onto the shadow of a table and heaved it right at Rosaline. Thankfully she managed to blast the table out of the way with her wand. Grace rolled out of the way, as the dust from the explosion had clouded the room. It was perfect cover to make a change of clothing.

"You made a made move coming here, before my business with my girl could be concluded," taunted Knox as he turned around, before the shadow reached forward. It ripped Rosaline down to the ground by the hair. She hit the ground hard and was flung around. Only a cushioning spell had blocked her from smashing down hard. She looked, knowing that Grace had changed into the Shadow Phantom. "As I told your cousin, I have power that ain't been seen by no one. Nobody can stop me."

"I'm sure he might be able to, but since he retired a few years ago, I guess I'm going to have to do," said the Shadow Phantom as she dove it, towards the demon shadow but she passed through, causing her to land on the ground behind it. Knox turned, a sickly yellow look in the eyes.

"The Shadow Phantom, you might be a hero, but you can't even stop the evil I can do," said Knox, as he gripped the shadow of the rug in his hands but the Shadow Phantom used the propulsion feature her suit to launch herself up into the air. Knox stood and the Shadow Phantom aimed a blast of light from her arm. Knox was knocked off guard momentarily before he reared back his arm and punched the shadow of the Shadow Phantom. The Shadow Phantom was backed off. Another high intensity blast appeared to rock Knox.

"I don't know what you are, but since you're behind the crime wave, you're going to have to be taken down," said the Shadow Phantom firmly, even through she was at loss at how exactly she was going to put down this shadow and even Knox was amused.

"You're not going to put me down, I'm invincible," said Knox triumphantly as he grabbed the shadowed leg of the Shadow Phantom, before launching her up into the air. She struck the ceiling hard and bounced off, before he rose into the air and aimed his fist down right down across the shadowed throat. The Shadow Phantom was laid down. "Even with your name, you can't even match me. Call me Wraith."

"Cute, but I don't do cute," said the Shadow Phantom as she struggled to her feet and blasted a net, trying to angle the shadow of it towards the Shadow Phantom so it would have some effect. It appeared to be something that was easily blocked, as Wraith ripped through the material of the net, before the Shadow Phantom struggled to breathe. Shadowed hands were around the throat of her shadow and she gasped, as her limbs thrashed violently. If she could only activate the cloaking control on her armor, she might have a chance. Still she felt she was getting rather light headed as Rosaline desperately threw spells, none of them having any effect.

"I will kill you for getting in my way, both of you," said Wraith as he dumped the Shadow Phantom. "Grace Potter is my property; I will claim her, just like I did half of the jewelry in the city."

"You can't do that, she told me about you!" shouted Rosaline, as she figured out who this mysterious Wraith was. He was the only one who could have such a possessive attitude over Grace, but Rosaline was knocked backwards.

"Your little stick won't protect you from what lurks in the shadows," said Wraith but at the top of the stairs, young Franklin Longbottom stood, yawning, as he rubbed his eyes.

"Rosaline is that you is it time to go home yet?" asked Frankie as he looked up before Wraith turned to the kid, at the top of the stairs before he moved forward. "It's a bad guy! The Shadow Phantom will beat you up you…"

"I doubt it, kid," said Wraith as he grabbed Frankie by the arms of his shadow and lifted him up into the air. "Grace, you have one hour to come surrender yourself to me, wherever you may be hiding. You know where my place is or the little brat gets it."

"FRANKIE!" shouted Rosaline in a horrified voice, as she aimed her wand but knew sending a spell would only cause Wraith to drop her brother. She watched as the Shadow Phantom struggled to her feet, helping her up. "That lunatic has my brother…"

"I know, Rosaline, we'll get him back, I promise," said Grace in a tired voice. "What time are Aunt Hailey and Uncle Neville coming home?"

"Not until the morning, thank Merlin, same with Aunt Ginny and Uncle Harry," explained Rosaline. "Otherwise this would be a bitch to explain…"

"No kidding," said Grace in a tired voice. "That nutcase damaged my armor in the battle but I think I have an idea on how we can beat him."

"I hope it's a good one," said Rosaline urgently. "Are you sure you can get by with damaged armor?"

"I have no choice, I only have an hour, he wants me but he's going to get the Shadow Phantom," said Grace. "The plan is I'll keep him busy and you get Frankie out of there."

Rosaline nodded, it was simple, but it was effective.

"Do you think you can beat him?" asked Rosaline.

"I have to beat him," said Grace. "He is not going to rest, no matter what. He can manipulate shadows and can be everywhere, no matter where I hide."

"Unfortunately, that is correct Miss Potter," said the calm voice of Agent Bishop as he walked forward, flanked by several of his commandos. "I'm afraid I played a role in this, Mr. Knox applied for a job as a common janitor at one of my labs and got his hands on a modified sample of the DNA of Luther Malfoy, alias Master Magic."

"I was afraid you might be involved," said Grace. "The question can Wraith be beaten?"

"Doctor Stockman is working on it, but our preliminary calculations indicate that a very simple component might be able to weaken Wraith, to allow us to contain him," said Bishop calmly. "Stall him until sunrise."

"That's in five and a half hours!" exclaimed Grace.

"I know but it's the best we can hope for, otherwise he will retreat underground and we never find him," argued Bishop. "You two girls will proceed with your plan and I will be standing by once Wraith has been immobilized."

Rosaline and Grace exchanged looks, before they nodded. They had little choice but to trust Bishop. Bishop and Stockman were the only one's who had access to the component that turned Jacob Knox into Wraith. So it would stand to reason they would be the only ones who would be able to concoct a way to contain the demon shadow.

-

Wraith stood as his hostage was tied up in the basement of his apartment. The boy squirmed, shaking in absolute terror.

"You better hope that Grace shows or I will put you down, you little brat," responded Wraith calmly as Frankie shook madly. "Stop that shaking, it's driving me nuts."

The boy stopped, almost paralyzed with fear, as Wraith looked at him.

"I suppose you think your little heroine the Shadow Phantom is going to save you," remarked Wraith and Frankie nodded, but Wraith looked at the child, in absolute disgust. "You better hope not, because if she gets in my way too many times, I'm going to stomp your little heroine, breaking all of her bones."

"You better be able to back that up!" shouted the Shadow Phantom as she rushed down the stairs, blasting several high impact blasts of bright light. It backed off Wraith, catching him off guard. Wraith was staggered back but he grabbed a pipe laying on the basement floor by the shadow. A swing smacked the pipe into the shadow of the Shadow Phantom, staggering her back. Another smack and the Shadow Phantom was backed off, staggering back. Wraith was standing right underneath the shadow of a wooden beam, so she aimed her wrist blaster. It sliced through the beam like a hot knife through butter and the shadow dropped on top of Wraith. Wraith struggled, but it appeared that the shadow of the beam was the equivalent of a beam being dropped on a real person. Quickly, the Shadow Phantom moved over to Frankie and untied him. "We need to get you out before that…thing gets up."

"Cool!" shouted Frankie, as a typical little kid was not traumatized when his hero was here so obviously he had nothing to worry about.

"Not cool, you need to get out of here, your sister is waiting for you upstairs, you need to go, let me take him out," said the Shadow Phantom as Frankie nodded, before he rushed up to meet Rosaline.

"No you…you…you cost me my insurance!" thundered Wraith, as he managed to somehow slide out from underneath the beam, being none of the worse for wear and hoisted up a cinderblock. It dropped down to the ground but the Shadow Phantom rolled out of the way.

"Can't hit what you can't see," remarked the Shadow Phantom as she activated the cloaking control. She became invisible and revealed no shadow. Wraith looked around in confusion and Grace moved over, before she blasted towards a stack of boxes, the shadows right next to Wraith. Certain enough, her calculations were spot on but Wraith had avoided the attack.

"You thought that would work a second time, didn't you?" asked Wraith as he moved around, looking for the Shadow Phantom. "What kind of idiot do you think I am?"

"You mean there's more than one kind?" asked the Shadow Phantom in mock surprise.

"STOP MOCKING ME!" shouted Wraith, as he laid waste to his own basement, in an attempt to take out the Shadow Phantom.

"I'm surprised someone of your limited intelligence even knows what that word means, maybe you're not completely useless after all," said Shadow Phantom as she ducked a set of weights that came too close to comfort. "Oh look, the dumbbell tried to hit me with a dumbbell. That was choice."

"I'll wipe you out then I get what I deserve," said Wraith as he continue to throw stuff. Grace was amused that even with powers, he was still the same hotheaded lunatic with limited intelligence he was.

"Perhaps a Kindergarten education would be order?" taunted the Shadow Phantom. "Otherwise you're just a thug with shadow powers.

Wraith continued to throw things, some of them that the Shadow Phantom actually had to dodge, but she winced. Her cloaking control had shorted out at the worst possible time. Sometimes she thought this high tech, expensive suit of armor was more trouble than it was worth. Those thoughts went through her head just as Wraith's fist did and her head nearly went through the cinder block. She was on the floor and Wraith hoisted up a set of weights, before throwing them at her. She rolled out of the way, avoiding being crushed. Even if her armor would cushion most of the blow, it was still would not be pleasant.

"I don't see you smarting off right now," said Wraith as he dove towards the shadow, hands extended but the Shadow Phantom maneuvered out of the way, before she sent a few high impact blasts, the light causing Wraith slight discomfort, but less than usual as he plowed through them. "Your little light attacks piss me off more than they hurt me now."

"Guess I'm going to have to go out for some more light," remarked the Shadow Phantom as she shot a metal ring at an angle. Its shadow partially latched onto Wraith, as the heroine blasted up. Wraith pulled across the metal ring, in addition to shadow manipulation and travel, some form of super strength had been added. Wraith tore after the Shadow Phantom. She was going to pay for getting in his way.

-

Wraith tore through the city and turned at the sounds of a whistle. The Shadow Phantom stood outside of a baseball stadium, after the chase had gone on for several hours.

"For an ultra powerful shadow, you're rather slow, you know that," responded the Shadow Phantom with a grin as Wraith spun around, before he propelled a glass bottle at this nuisance. She dodged and the glass shattered. "Inside, if you think you can beat me"

"I won't just beat you, I'll destroy you!" thundered Wraith as he dove right into the baseball stadium, before he looked from side to side, as the Shadow Phantom stood right by the light switches.

"Sorry but I'm afraid I need to shed a little light on the subject," remarked the Shadow Phantom as she pulled a switch. High intense lights came on and the Shadow Phantom even had to shield her eyes. Wraith staggered backwards, it appeared the lights had weakened his ability. He backed off, he felt weakened. "What's the matter, afraid to come out into the light?"

Wraith reached around, before he saw a baseball bat sitting on the ground. He groped around, to grab the shadow. Success as he aimed before he heaved it towards the power box. The bat connected hard, sending sparks everywhere and causing the baseball stadium to be put in perpetual darkness.

The Shadow Phantom mentally cursed, this was the last thing she wanted, within all of the darkness, a shadow would be extremely difficult to pinpoint, but fortunately, she had a surprise built into her armor, heat vision sensors built into her helmet. And Rosaline thought it was a dumb idea.

She saw the outline of Wraith in the darkness. It revealed that even if he was a demon shadow, there was something that resembled body heat being given off.

The Shadow Phantom was knocked backwards and she flew right towards the exit of the baseball stadium. She crashed onto the ground hard, wincing, it was a good thing that this armor protected her.

Wraith appeared on the outside, a murderous look in his eyes, as he looked at the Shadow Phantom, before he reached forward, hands on the bottom of the helmet.

"Now let's see who is under the mask," muttered Wraith but the Shadow Phantom turned. Over the horizon, the sun was rising up.

"I'm afraid we're going to have to take a rain check on that unmasking," responded the Shadow Phantom and Wraith paused, before the sun rose. He turned, the sun beams bombarded him. The shadow wilted, staggering.

"No, I have to get away, from the sun," rasped Wraith as he felt his form weaken. "Underground, yes that's right, I'll get you soon…"

"I'm afraid that won't be on the agenda, Mr. Knox," responded Bishop as he walked forward, with his group of commandos, who had spray cans. Yellow spray blasted towards the weakened Wraith and he dropped to the ground, a muddled mess of black tar, his yellow eyes looking from it murderously, before the commandos sealed him in the containment unit. "Right now, it's either going to be a cure or destruction, whichever we can come up with first."

"But he won't escape," said the Shadow Phantom anxiously and Bishop nodded.

"We will take every precaution to make sure he never breaks out and threatens New York again," said Bishop and Grace nodded slowly. She hoped she would be able to take Bishop at his word. So far he had not done anything shady and he had kept Master Magic under lock, even though his DNA had inadvertently created Viral and Wraith.

-

"Everyone okay?" asked Grace as she visited the Longbottom resident early that morning, with Frankie and Rosaline sitting there, both of them ready to go to school. "I'm sorry but you were…"

"Hiding," offered Frankie as he bounced up and down on the soles of his feet.

"I'm really sorry," said Grace in an apologetic voice.

"It's alright," said Rosaline, as there was no use crying over spilled potion.

"Yeah, it's not your fault your not as cool as the Shadow Phantom," piped up Frankie. "She's really cool, a real hero, not like you, but that's okay. Not everyone could get that cool."

"No they can't," agreed Grace with a knowing smile that she exchanged with Rosaline. If only little Franklin Longbottom knew the truth but that would be impossible.

Right now, duty called, it was a school day unfortunately and she needed to meet up with Steven for some help on a project before school anyway. At least she had seen the last of Wraith or so she hoped.


	8. Chapter 8: Adrenaline Part One

**Chapter Eight: Adrenaline Part One:**

"Blasted Cyberdroid," grumbled the Shadow Phantom as she was blasted to the ground. A cyberdroid had stood over her, it appeared to be a smaller, more mobile model, not to mention the fact it had a few more weapons. Several rockets cut through the air, blasting holes in the ground. It was only a small comfort that she had managed to lure it away from civilization, into a mostly abandoned park. A large rocket cut through the air and she dodged the attack, causing a statue to blow to smithereens. Pieces of rock flew in every which direction as the Shadow Phantom looked. A small homing beacon was on the head of the statue, but the problem was, it was protected by an array of weapons. Only if she could get to it, she would be able to disable the Cyberdroid.

The Shadow Phantom back flipped onto a jungle gym but the Cyberdroid was quick, blasting a chain from its arm. It wrapped around the Shadow Phantom. The hero struggled, she tried to find a way out, to break the chain, crouching down, before she slid down, snapping the chain. The Cyberdroid was backed off a step and the Shadow Phantom propelled up into the air. Both feet cracked down across the top of the head of the Cyberdroid, causing the head to be slightly damaged, but unfortunately the sensor device was not among the damage.

A blast of high frequency energy indicated the robot was most certainly done playing games. Another blast and the Shadow Phantom was sent through the fence. She appeared very anxious, this is what she was trying to avoid, being so close to the city and all the innocent people inside. The Cyberdroid turned towards its pretty and knocked the Shadow Phantom right through the fence. She landed with a thud and rolled over, where the Cyberdroid bounced off, sending a blast of yellow light. The laser was something to be avoided and the Shadow Phantom did so, with a hole being blasted in the ground. They were near a very popular club and it only served to remind Grace that she was running very late for a date with Steven.

"Come on, is that the best you can give me?" taunted the Shadow Phantom, hoping to maneuver whomever was controlling the robot into making a mistake. Unfortunately that was a fatal error, as several blasts cut through the air, each of the lasers were deadly and the crowd around had ran in every direction, screaming. It appeared that they were smart enough to move out of the way. This gave the Shadow Phantom a chance to throw a shuriken but the Cyberdroid deflected it. She backed off, it was aimed towards the sensor and that element had to be taken out if she could hope to win.

The Cyberdroid aimed its leg and it blasted a net from its knees. It was a sticky adhesive that wrapped the Shadow Phantom up. Even with the hardware on her suit, it would take her several minutes to get free and judging by the missiles the Cyberdroid was now packing, that was time she did not have the luxury of having.

"I don't believe this!" shrieked the voice of Andrea Radcliffe as she left the nightclub, flanked by her latest date. She looked at the Cyberdroid and Grace had never been so pleased to see that annoyance ever in her life "Hey, you, get away from my car!"

The Cyberdroid turned and fired missiles at Andrea. She screamed as she was blasted off the ground. The Cyberdroid reached forward and pulled her up by the dress, which ripped slightly in its clutches. Andrea hit the ground, splashing in the mud, she shrieked in agony, as her date laughed at her, along with several other members of the crowd. Meanwhile, the Shadow Phantom had managed to cut herself free and had spotted the sensor. The Cyberdroid turned around and quick shuriken flung it at had struck the Cyberdroid perfectly. It exploded a moment later, knocking out the sensor and disabling its weapons. A blast had disabled it completely and it fell to the ground, a non working hunk of metal.

"YOU!" shouted Andrea angrily as she turned to the Shadow Phantom. "I can't believe you, you're supposed to be hero, that you put us in danger and you got me dirty, you ripped my best dress. You are nothing but a menace, that thing was after you and you put everyone in danger. The fact you wear a mask is disgusting, what too ugly to show your face? And you call yourself a hero!"

"I'd like to see you try being a hero, princess," responded the Shadow Phantom, so only Andrea could hear her. "It isn't all fun and games, people do get hurt, no matter your best efforts."

"Well perhaps I could be a better hero than you," responded Andrea boastfully which Grace doubted very much. That uppity little pompous pampered girl would be too afraid to break a nail.

"You might want to clear that way and take it apart, perhaps try and trace the source, although I'm sure the people behind it had disabled it by now," said the Shadow Phantom to the police who had just showed up on the scene and they nodded. They blinked, the Shadow Phantom gone.

"Figures, the heroine decides to leave when there's a mess to clean up," commented Andrea, but no one was even looking at her, as she stood in a ripped dress, covered in mud.

-

Grace arrived a few moments, with Steven standing there outside the club, where they agreed to meet. Her date turned to her, with an approving look at what she was wearing but managed to focus enough to tell her what she needed to know.

"Hi, Grace, you just missed something interesting, the Shadow Phantom showed up and defended us against a giant robot," said Steven calmly as he looked at Andrea who was still ranting about the Shadow Phantom. "Radcliffe's upset she got thrown in the mud but she deserved it."

"I seemed to have missed a lot, like always," remarked Grace.

"I know, the Shadow Phantom interests me, but only a scientific curiosity," said Steven. "That armor she wears is a scientific marvel if I might say so myself. The way it moves, its poetry in motion, positively perfect and flawless, it is a work of genius."

"Are you sure you aren't going to ditch or date and hook up with the armor?" asked Grace in a joking manner and Steven looked at her, with a slight smile.

"Very funny," remarked Steven as he held his hand out for Grace to take it. "Shall we?"

"Of course," said Grace as she allowed Steven to lead her inside the club. As long as she was home by nine o'clock, she was allowed an amazing amount of freedom by her parents.

Meanwhile, Andrea watched Grace and half of the crowd, including the boy who was supposed to be Andrea's date, was gawking at her. She got all this attention, yet she remained nice and pretty much down to earth. Andrea acted like someone in Grace's position should be but as long as Grace Potter was around, Andrea would be only the second most pretty, popular, and intelligent girl. It was not fair; she got attention and every looked passed Andrea.

It was even worse when the Shadow Phantom was around. Ever since she showed up, that's all everyone seemed to want to talk about. She was an attention craving nuisance that took valuable attention away from Andrea. Once again, she refused to trust anyone who covered their face, they had to be absolutely ugly to do something like.

-

"What went wrong?" demanded "X" as Jammerhead was bent over the remote control console, trying to trace what was left of his Cyberdroid.

"A simple malfunction, no need, I will correct it in the next model," responded Jammerhead calmly.

"A simple malfunction?" demanded "X" in a challenging voice as if he knew Jammerhead was keeping something from him.

"An exploding shuriken into the sensory function damaged most of the robot," amended Jammerhead. "I thought it was impossible to damage, but the Shadow Phantom managed to bypass my security. She is annoyingly resourceful, Master."

"That much should have been obvious long ago," responded "X" coldly as the scientist looked fearful as his boss looked at him from the shadows, features obscured. "Let us avoid the failures for now, but the Shadow Phantom will fall, I don't care how. Our mutant project has been a bust for the most part, but the latest project I set you upon. What is the progress on our super enhancer?"

"Its on schedule Master, it is untested, but everything is as it should be," remarked Jammerhead calmly. "If only I could have some volunteers…"

"No one inside my organization, I can't afford to lose anyone by a failed chemical, no matter how unimportant," said "X" sternly. "You will find a subject, someone who would be foolish enough to take an untested chemical. Perhaps for the chance to show up Downfall."

"I have the perfect person in mind," responded Jammerhead in triumph, as he remembered what he saw on the video link before his Cyberdroid has hauled away. "It is just a matter of tracking her down and I believe we could monitor the long term progress of constant dosages."

"Do so then Jammerhead and report your progress and your prognosis to me regularly," ordered "X" and Jammerhead nodded, before he left. He hoped the girl was still in the city but there were ways of tracking someone down at their home, especially when one worked for one of the most dangerous crime bosses in the city.

-

In the latter part of the evening, Grace entered her home with a big smile on her face as she had returned from her date with Steven. To be honest, she had a great time, one of the best. In reality, it was nothing special, but the fact she was spent a couple of hours with someone she had grown to care a lot for had made it worthwhile somehow. She arrived home where her parents were sitting in the living room. Her father appeared to be stressed out about something and was telling her mother about something but they quickly stopped when they saw Grace had arrived.

"Good evening Grace," said Ginny as she looked at her daughter. "How was your date?"

"It was great, the best," remarked Grace with a smile. "Nothing special mind you but it was fun."

"It's great you had a good time Grace," remarked Harry but he appeared to be a bit uneasy for some reason. "Still, I wouldn't get too emotionally invested in this guy, given that your last boyfriend…"

"Turned out to be a stalking psychopath who turned himself into a demon shadow to come after me," said Grace and Harry nodded.

"Thankfully Bishop was able to contain him, but he should have left something like that lying around, where anyone could use it," responded Harry as he looked at his daughter. "Still I'm concerned…"

"We both are Grace, especially since only a couple of months ago you pretty much swore off dating and now this comes all of a sudden," said Ginny.

"I know, but Steven is different, he is nothing like Knox," responded Grace firmly. "Don't you trust my judgment?"

"Of course we do, Grace," replied Harry calmly as he looked at his daughter calmly. "It's just everyone else's judgment is a bit suspect."

Grace nodded, it was difficult to argue with her father on this point.

"So when is Steven going to come by?" asked Ginny as she looked at her daughter calmly. "I'd like to meet him."

"Yeah, when are we going to meet…the dear boy," remarked Harry as he polished a katana, looking at his daughter, who was looking at him with a mock angry glare. "Sorry, I really couldn't resist but you do know if he breaks your heart…"

"You'll break his legs," concluded Grace and her father nodded. Perhaps it was the best for Knox that he was locked, because even with his enhanced shadow powers, she doubted very much he would be a match for her father. Not that would not be a show that she minded to see. "Not sure, perhaps one day soon enough, he is a busy person too, he does have his own life, you know there is never enough time."

"Isn't that the truth," remarked Harry in a knowing voice as Grace walked up to her room, a spring in her step and a smile on her face before he turned to his wife, who looked on, with a raised eyebrow.

"She does seem happy," offered Ginny. "You don't trust this Torbin kid, do you?"

"You know me too well, Ginny," said Harry. "After that Knox incident, you can't blame me for a being a bit particular on who Grace dates. He turned out to be a real lunatic and it was lucky he was contained."

"Grace was two years younger, she's matured, I think she's learned from her mistakes," offered Ginny, as she sat down next to Harry.

"Once again I trust Grace, it's just something about Mr. Torbin seems off," said Harry. "Maybe I should have Bishop run a background check on that kid, it's obvious he owes me several favors with both the Wraith and Viral incidents he inadvertently had a hand in."

"Don't you think that's a bit extreme?" asked Ginny as she looked at Harry but he just gave a weak smile.

"I hope it is an extreme that I would not have to take," responded Harry with a sigh, but in truth, something about this Steven Torbin had Harry on edge. He normally had a good sixth sense about these things but he could not quite put his finger on what was bothering him. He could handle the Foot, Death Eaters, and the Purple Dragons back in the day with ease, but his daughter dating was another matter entirely "Montague on the other hand, he's becoming a rather pain, even worse than Fudge was…"

"You really think he's enabling the Techno-Mages somehow," said Ginny, as there had been several shady dealings that Montague had been a part of in the past but this was perhaps the shadiest of them all. Harry looked at his wife, before nodding.

"I don't think, I'm almost sure of it, the problem is, I have nothing to tie it together," responded Harry with a defeated sigh, at this revelation. "He's wasting way too much time going after the Shadow Phantom, but not the people who are actually committing the crimes."

"Don't worry Harry, Montague will slip up sooner or later and someone will catch him," said Ginny confidently, as she leaned forward and kissed Harry. At one time, they would be the one's that would have to worry about it, but now they swept that matter under the rug. Now, they were only normal people, with the ability to perform magic mind, but normal people that would have to live with the consequences when the people who were supposed to protect them from the wrongdoings of others had failed.

-

Andrea sat at a table, after changing out of her dress. Her date had ran out, another dismal failure, thanks to the Shadow Phantom. Ever since she showed up, Andrea felt she had to play third banana, behind the Shadow Phantom and Grace Potter. It was not like those two were anything special. Grace wasted too much time pandering to people who were lesser than someone of her status and the Shadow Phantom, people thought she was something special because she used a few tricky gadgets. Andrea was not impressed by someone who wore a mask, they were either a coward or ugly. Or both, but this Shadow Phantom took away the spotlight that should have been shined brightly on her and had been until Grace Potter showed up five years ago. She was obsessed with both of them and overshadowing both of them, by anyway possible.

"Excuse me, I believe I didn't give you permission to sit there," remarked Grace in a challenging voice as a hooded figure sat down across from her, but whoever was under the hood appeared to not hear her, in fact he totally ignored her, something that Andrea was not used to. "Hey, I talked to you, you weirdo, you better get off that seat before I.."

"That's no way to talk to someone who is about to offer you ultimate power," said the hooded figure. "Unlimited intelligence, beauty, and popularity, along with the ability to take care of a problem that we obviously have both been alarmed with, that obviously being the Shadow Phantom."

"How do you know about me having a problem with her?" asked Andrea as she looked at the hooded figure.

"I have my ways," remarked the hooded figure, as he looked at Andrea. "Are you in or you out? Not only will I offer you the means to have power beyond the Shadow Phantom, but I will offer you a costume to showcase your abilities so everyone you encounter remembers you. Without covering your face I might add."

"I'm interested, I want it but…there's a catch with it," stated Andrea suspiciously. She was called many things, but no one could accuse her of being stupid. She was a very perceptive girl as she looked at the hooded. "What's the catch?"

"None right now, just enjoy your little gift, but if you are not satisfied I will return to this exact spot in three days time and you can meet me," said the hooded figure as he held out a suitcase, opening it up, to reveal a white and blue cloth costume, with a vial of some purple substance. "The only thing I ask is you be a heroine that shows up the Shadow Phantom in every way whatsoever."

"You have a deal," said Andrea greedily as she took the suitcase, before she removed the vial and uncorked it before she downed it in one greedy gulp. She looked at the hooded figure with a bit of confusion etched on her face. "I don't feel different, what's the deal?"

"The changes will be evident when you need them," said the hooded figure. "Change into your costume, do some good, and if you're not satisfied with the changes, I will be at this site in three days time to discuss it."

Andrea nodded, ready to prove the Shadow Phantom wrong and show her what a true heroine was. She always loved trying on a new outfit and could not wait for her great reveal to the entire city. The Shadow Phantom would be yesterday's news and the city of New York would have a new heroine that they could all worship.

-

Grace walked from school the next day, and unless there was something that needed her attention, she planned to go straight home. Crime had been a little slow in the city since her battle with Wraith a week ago, other than that Cyberdroid incident and a few run ins with Techno-Mages. For New York, that was a quiet week.

A burglar alarm sounded, which caused Grace to groan. As it turned out, crime did not take a day off. She ducked into the shadows, to make her daring transformation into the Shadow Phantom to deal with whoever was behind this.

A pair of masked goons ran down the street, with sacks of money in their hands, laughing madly at the fact they got away, as several police and innocent buy standers were down on the ground, from the attacks from the plasma blasters that the burglars were carrying.

"Man these blasters really did the job," bragged the burglar as he held his money. "Look at what we got with them, no one can stop us."

"Yeah it is amazing what you can find on the Internet," bragged the second burglar as the Shadow Phantom watched them move in, but a blur moved, dressed in a blue and white outfit, with a tacky looking "A" stitched on the front. This unexpected development had caused the Shadow Phantom to pause in her tracks, eyebrows raised and she gasped when she realized it was Andrea. There was something off about her.

"Halt you fiends, you might have thought you could get away with these crimes, but a real heroine has appeared on the scene," remarked Andrea as the two thieves looked at each other, before they responded by laughing. "You might laugh now, but you will all remember the name of a true hero, Adrenaline!"

Grace stepped in before Andrea hurt herself but much to her surprises, she expertly evaded two blasts from the plasma blaster, at the speed of light, before she disarmed the thieves and tossed them to the ground. They landed hard and were secured in a moment. Andrea stood over them, brushing off her hands, looking pleased at herself, as the two burglars were secured.

"I hope you two learned a valuable lesson that crime does not pay and if anyone is in trouble, they can count on a true valiant defender to save them without putting lives in peril, Adrenaline," crowed Andrea with a smile on her face, posing for the press as they took pictures. The Shadow Phantom stepped out and Andrea turned to her, with a smile. "Well if it isn't yesterday's hero? Here to pick up a few pointers from a true heroine to salvage your damaged career."

The crowd laughed but the Shadow Phantom was not laughing, in fact she looked at the alleged heroine.

"No, I'm here to warn you that this is a dangerous job, it's not all press and publicity, getting attention, you were lucky those were just a couple of small time thieves," said the Shadow Phantom but Andrea just snorted. "I'm serious, there are a lot of dangerous threats in this city and you might not be up to the task…"

"Please, I have super strength, super speed, super intelligence, there's no one who could touch me, I've taken care of those goons faster than you could have with your tacky armor," said Andrea. "Still, if you play your cards right, maybe I'll allow you to be my sidekick. You would have to get a different outfit, that one is hideous and lose the helmet too. Real heroines don't hide underneath masks."

"Real heroines don't save people just to get in the spotlight, they do it because it's the right thing to do," said the Shadow Phantom as the members of the press muttered, talking about how she must have been jealous at the success of Adrenaline. "I guess it will be a lesson you'll have to learn the hard way."

"Just crawl back to wherever washed up heroes go, this town has its protector now, someone who will actually protect them and not put people in danger," said Andrea as the Shadow Phantom walked off, she heard her father talk about his past and wonder why he had even bothered sometimes. The fact that so many people were taking a shine to Andrea because of a few swift moves and her ability to ham it up had caused her to wonder why she had even bothered sometimes herself. Sure it was the right thing to do, but there was no need to take constant abuse for a world that could care less.

-

"All over the paper I see," responded Rosaline, as they sat the living room. "Adrenaline, the true, hero, the Shadow Phantom, a washed up zero, the press can be really cruel when they come down to it. The fact remains this city would have been torn apart by Wraith, Maser Magic, or Viral if it wasn't for the Shadow Phantom. There's no questions about that, rather all Adrenaline has done is fought a bunch of low rent thugs and low lives."

"Yes, but try telling that to them," said Grace in a frustrated voice. "It's almost like the real threats are being deliberately kept off the streets to make the Shadow Phantom look bad and her look good."

"Actually Grace, that might not be too far off," responded Rosaline with a triumphant look in her eyes. "You did say her parents were rich so you don't suppose…"

"No, I doubt even she would have enough money to completely halt all dangerous crime, but no Techno-Mages, Cyberdroids, or mutants over the past couple of days, that's really, really strange," offered Grace as she sighed. "Somehow however might be keeping those things off of the streets, maybe our mysterious leader of the Techno Mages, you know "X"."

"Makes sense, I mean Andrea has been on the scene several times when the Shadow Phantom showed up showed up, fighting his goons and her very verbal complaints, she does do it every time she has the chance," said Grace thoughtfully. "I'm not going to stop doing the right thing because it's easy. Andrea had to have gotten those powers somewhere; she doesn't seem like the top who would work to create something that complex."

"Whoever it is, they'll have to slip up sooner or later and then we'll finger out what's going on," responded Rosaline and Grace nodded, as she looked thoughtful. It was time for the Shadow Phantom to suit up and activate the recently repaired cloaking function. She would figure out what Andrea was up to, there had to be more to this than meets the eye.

-

Andrea ran across the roof tops of the city with the greatest of ease, making sure that everyone could see her death defying acrobatics. Ever since she became Adrenaline, she was the talk of the city. Everyone in the school admired her; both Potter and the Shadow Phantom had been shunted down to the bottom of the pecking order where they belonged. She did another breath taking, somersault, landing firmly on the roof above, before doing another daring leap. Whatever was in that vial that hooded guy gave her, it was amazing, it had been three days and she was even more popular than she had ever before.

An alarm went off and two thieves exited from the shop. Andrea smirked, it was time to show the city and the Shadow Phantom, if she was watching from some home of washed up heroines. She landed down from the roof right in front of the thieves, but suddenly she lost her balance, nearly collapsing to the ground.

"Hey, it's that Adrenaline that everyone's talking about," said one of the thieves as he looked at her. She was suddenly hunched over, gasping for breath, barely able to move, and the thieves looked at her in surprise. "She doesn't look so good."

"Let's fix her suffering, by ending her life," said the second thief, as the Shadow Phantom watched from above. She did not know whether or not Andrea was playing for dramatic effect or was really being suddenly weak for no good reason. She jumped down, deactivating the cloaking control of her suit.

"It's the Shadow Phantom!" shouted the thief even though this was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Let's waste both of them!" yelled the second thief, before the Shadow Phantom leaped up into the air, before both of the weapons were disabled quickly and then a net shot around each thief, wrapping around them.

"You, I had them right where I wanted them and you had to hog all the glory," said Andrea, but she nearly collapsed; she had never felt so weak in her life. Something clicked in her mind, that guy who gave her that vial said he would be at the place they first met in three days and it had been three days. It was almost as if he knew her powers were going to abruptly short out. "I don't have time for you; I need to…meet up with someone. Sorry citizens, but even us heroes have responsibilities to attend to."

The Shadow Phantom stayed, watching Andrea leave, before she slipped into the alleyway, reconfiguring the cloaking control and followed the would-be heroine. Her powers shorted out and it was obvious she had to recharge. At a safe distance, she followed; she was getting closer to determining what was going on.

-

"What happened to me?" demanded Andrea, as she slumped down right across her hooded benefactor, who appeared to be unconcerned. "My powers…my skills…they were gone and I'm weak…"

"I'm sorry, I did forget to mention that the first batch of the enhancer I gave you only gave temporary super powers, but I can give you more," said the hooded man as he held the vial out, as Andrea reached for it. "Not so fast, you have to promise to do something to me, my dear and power is yours."

"You said there was no catch!" argued Andrea as her hooded benefactor looked across at her.

"For the first vial, but you only received a free sample of power, real power comes out a price, I want you to rob the diamond district, clean it out, this vial will give you enough power for twelve hours, more than sufficient time to do the job," remarked the hooded figure. "Do it or else. Your status and your fame as a heroine is on the line. You want the fame, but it comes at a price."

"Fine I'll steal your stupid diamonds!" shouted Andrea loudly, causing several people to stare at her.

"That's all I ask and you will get another week's worth of power with my new and improved super enhancer, which should tide you over long enough until "X" needs you for another job," said the hooded figure.

"Who is "X"?" asked Andrea.

"That's on a need to know basis, you simply don't need to know," said the hooded figure, as he held out the vial and Andrea snatched it, before she downed it quickly as if her life depended on it. "Bring the diamonds to this address and if the Shadow Phantom gets in your way, eliminate her."

"With pleasure," said Andrea, who had no problems fulfilling this end of the agreement.

-

At the diamond district, Andrea dodged the laser security control system with expert precision, before she walked over with a large glass case, filled with sparkling diamonds. It was very tempting to take a few for herself but she resisted the urge. Rather she pried up the case effortlessly and began to load the diamonds into a bag at the speed of light. Why these people needed so many diamonds, she would never know?

"A little late night shopping, Adrenaline?" asked the Shadow Phantom, causing her to turn around. "Some heroine you turned out to be, robbing…"

"Listen to me you insolent little nobody, I am a true heroine, I have to do this so I can be one," said Adrenaline. "Just like I'm going to have to hurt you for upstaging me."

Quickly, at the speed of light almost, a kick from Adrenaline was slammed right into the chest of the Shadow Phantom's armor. She spiraled to the ground, crashing hard, as it came close to damaging her armor. Adrenaline charged her, spiraling in the air, before a leaping kick struck the Shadow Phantom right in the face. The Shadow Phantom's knees collapsed out from under her as she tried to get to her feet. A leap but she managed to move. Adrenaline bounced around, doing several flips in mid air, before she landed on her feet and the Shadow Phantom shot a net. Adrenaline caught it before it wrap around her and flung it back. The Shadow Phantom was wrapped up in the net and Adrenaline dove forward, scooping up the net containing the Shadow Phantom and throwing her right into the glass display case with surprising strength, causing pieces of glass to fly in every which direction.

"That ought to keep you off of my back," said Adrenaline smugly, as she walked off with the spoils of victory, as the Shadow Phantom managed to roll out of the pile of broken glass and wood, mostly uninjured.

"Your arrogance never ceases to amaze me, but thanks to that tracer I slipped on you, I'll find out what's going on yet," muttered the Shadow Phantom as she picked herself up, following the source of the homing beacon, given off by the tracking device.

-

"Excellent, Adrenaline, you have done well, that amount of diamonds, the boss will be pleased," said Jammerhead, still obscured by his hood. "X" obviously needed capital to fund some ambitious project and these diamonds would do nicely.

"What's that down there?" asked Adrenaline curiously.

"Our new, super enhancer, stronger, more powerful and more long lasting than that watered down sample that you had to take, but there are still some design flaws with it, some that I'm sure your autopsy will reveal fro the prototype," said Jammerhead calmly and Adrenaline backed off.

"What do you mean autopsy?" asked Adrenaline as she stepped back as the hooded figure pulled out a gun.

"I mean, you're history," said the hooded figure, but suddenly, the Shadow Phantom dove in, catching the hooded figure right in the end, causing him to land hard on the ground.

"You, what are you doing here?" demanded Adrenaline as she looked at the Shadow Phantom with a dangerous look etched in her eyes.

"Saving your life," responded the Shadow Phantom calmly, as Jammerhead pressed a button, as a dozen Techno-Mages appeared, wands at the ready and the Shadow Phantom turned, dodging the simulated magic attacks. "Listen, are your powers still up to par?"

"Yes, why?" asked Adrenaline in a challenging tone.

"I could use a little help, said the Shadow Phantom as she rolled underneath the attacks. Several her enemies were taken down but thick wires wrapped around her legs.

"Yeah right, like I'm going to help you," said Adrenaline stubbornly as she flipped over a charging Techno-Mage. "I'm getting out of here before my power runs out."

The Shadow Phantom had no time to argue, rather she ducked, dodged, swerved, avoiding each and every attack, but Jammerhead pulled himself to a standing position, before aiming his gun.

"You won't get out of here so easily," said Jammerhead as the catwalk was blasted. It cracked underneath Adrenaline, causing her to slide, before gripping onto a cable, as she dangled over the vat of the super enhancer. She hung onto the cable, as Jammerhead was knocked down. Adrenaline's strength was slowly fading.

The Shadow Phantom dodged as one of the Techno-Mage she was fighting had transfigured his wand into a razor sharp blade. It clanged to the arm, but the sharp end of the armor protruded, causing the two objects to clang together. The Techno-Mage was knocked backwards, causing the transfigured sword to spiral out of control, slicing the cable that Adrenaline was trying to pull herself up with.

Adrenaline shrieked, as she free fell into the vat of the super enhancer. She landed with a splash, before an electrical cable landed into the vat. It began to super charge the super enhancer, causing sparks to fly from it.

"OUT OF HERE NOW!" shouted one of the Techno-Mages, its going to blow, as they scattered. The Shadow Phantom paused, no matter how many differences she had with Adrenaline, she had to try and save her, even if it was impossible. Honor dictated certain conditions, but the fumes coming from the vat made her feel light headed and loud explosions had caused the entire building to rock.

"I'm sorry it had to come with this, Andrea, but you should have listened," said the Shadow Phantom in a regretful voice as she shot out of the open window, as the factory went sky high from the horrific chemical explosion.

-

Grace sat on the couch; she was honestly contemplating giving up being the Shadow Phantom now. She had an innocent, if slightly arrogant, person to her death last night. There could have been no way she survived. Her parents were out for the day, she had claimed she felt ill and quite frankly after what happened, she was.

A knock on the door had brought her to her senses and she turned, slowly walking to the door. She wondered who it could be. She walked shoulders slumped, as she opened the door and the sight she saw floored her.

"Andrea?" exclaimed Grace in surprise, as her nemesis was not only alive but she did not look injured at all. In fact, she looked like every teenage boy's wet dream. She was dressed in that costume, which was snug on her newly, formed shapely curves.

"Can the Shadow Phantom come out to play?" asked Adrenaline with a triumphant smile on her face as Grace backed off in shock.


	9. Chapter 9: Adrenaline Part Two

**Chapter Nine: Adrenaline Part Two:**

Grace's eyes widened in shock and awe, with Adrenaline having a grin on her face, as the realization of what she said had slowly dawned on the young Potter girl. Her mind worked furiously to attempt some form of damage control, but naturally the question was how in the hell did she fight out and what would she do.

"I don't know what you are talking about, the Shadow Phantom...doesn't live here, what happened to you anyway?" asked Grace, trying to play innocent but her nervousness had given away. Adrenaline looked at her, laughing, with a crazed look in her brown eyes, as she looked at Grace.

"Please, Grace, don't play coy with me, I know you're the Shadow Phantom, only an attention whore like yourself would have decided to do something like that, that would get the entire city talking about your every move," said Adrenaline as she stepped forward. "It isn't bad enough you stole attention away from me as yourself, you had to create this alter ego, but you know what, after what happened to me, after you pushed me into that vat to get rid of your competition, I am better than you ever could be in your life. Every cell of my body is saturated with the super enhancer, I have super speed, super strength, super reflexes, super beauty, and super intelligence. Everything that a true heroine should have and I don't need a tacky tin body suit to prove my greatness. I will prove that this town only has the room for one heroine."

Adrenaline looked at Grace, with a smug smile on her face, as Grace prepared herself for the inevitable fight.

"And I'm afraid that won't be you, babe," responded Adrenaline, before she hoisted Grace up by the shirt and flung her out onto the lawn. Grace bounced off the ground and Adrenaline launched herself right at Grace, but Grace just barely avoided the attack, to turn around with another punch. She dropped to the ground, in pain, with a bit of swelling underneath her eye. Adrenaline dropped down and kicked Grace directly in the chest, causing her to drop to the ground. "I guess clothes really do make some people. That's pathetic, the least you could do was fight back."

Grace sprung up and caught Adrenaline with a kick as hard as she could muster. Adrenaline stepped back, before she smirked at Grace.

"That almost hurt," said Adrenaline with a giggle, before she grabbed Grace by the hair and flung her right to the ground. She crashed down, just narrowly missing hitting the side walk. Adrenaline hoisted Grace up by the shirt and sprung up into the air, with the girl in her clutches. Grace squirmed as a couple of good leaps had sent them into the alleyway. She was thrown right into a dumpster. Grace squirmed, as she laid in filth, with Adrenaline standing right over her. "Right in the trash, where you belong. Now I've got a city to protect, the city is going to get someone worth worshipping and I better not catch you befouling it with your tacky Shadow Phantom get up."

Adrenaline left, as Grace tried to get out of the dumpster. She winced, she had never been so humiliated in her life. While she was not the great master of ninjitsu her father was or even her mother, she felt she was competent and this super powered freak made short work out of her. What was worse, she stunk like hell. She would not give up, no matter what that egomaniac Andrea said. Gaining super powers had just served to increase her ego to an insane level and she appeared to be quite unstable. Grace staggered out of the dumpster, realizing that she had to fight off against a dangerous foe, that knew that the Shadow Phantom and Grace Potter were one in the same. It was not going to be easy, but Grace had to stop her, before she hurt someone. It was the honorable thing to do.

-

"Part of this is my fault, I could have saved her from getting knocked into that vat," said Grace, as Rosaline was helping her made some modifications to the Shadow Phantom armor, in a desperate attempt to increase its power capabilities, every little bit was needed to beat Adrenaline. Even though they had stretched the suit to its capabilities, some spell work might have been able to do the trick to increase its durability.

"You were fighting the Techno-Mages, she was the one who tried to run away and thus put herself in the position to get thrown into the vat, none of this is your fault," responded Rosaline firmly as she looked at Grace. "The fact that she knows her identity and would be likely to spill it if she feels threatened and loses her temper is what worries me. How are you going to deal with that? The entire reason you created the Shadow Phantom was not to put any of your friends or family in danger. Now, if she throws everything out in the open…"

"I know, I don't want to do this but I have to beat her, she's only in it for the glory and the fame, which is fading, against a real threat, super powers or not, she might just fall on her face or in her fury, put countless lives in peril," responded Grace as she looked at her cousin. "Now these protective charms…"

"They won't last for more than a few hours but they should withhold Adrenaline's assault," responded Rosaline, answering the unasked question. "I just hope that is all you need, because I've stretched the capabilities of the armor to the limit, any more, and it will short circuit, taking out both you and a good city block."

"Well that won't happen, I have to find a way to beat her, without her spilling my identity to the world," said Grace with a sigh. This was not going to be easy, but few things in life really were. It was something that she had to do, no matter what the costs were and they were high.

-

Adrenaline sat perched, a wild smile appearing on her face, as she looked down, looking for some crime to fight. An alarm going off at piqued her interest and she leapt down immediately, seeing news vans nearby. It would be the perfect time to get her face known. Adrenaline dropped down, with a smug expression on her face, as she stared down the two thieves.

"Adrenaline?" asked one of the thieves in surprise. "I thought…she was finished…they said…"

"I'm never finished you foul fiends," said Adrenaline as she played for the camera, giving a wide smile, as the two thieves looked at her, unable to determine whether or not the girl was serious but they decided to open fire on Adrenaline with their laser blasters. She evaded each and every shot, with expert precision and speed, before she rushed over, knocking the laser blasters into the crowd, causing several people to run in terror as they went off. Adrenaline could care less, as she quickly grabbed one of the thieves, flipping him over, before posing for the camera. The second thief attempted to make a run for it but Adrenaline gracefully somersaulted over him, before grabbing him. The thief was flung over to the side, where he smashed crudely through a glass window. He gave a pained grunt as glass sliced into his neck. Adrenaline stepped back, posing as while many of the news people showed the grisly carnage, the crowd at large was disturbed of the brutality and disregard for the people around here. "That's right, make sure to get my good side, the heroine is here and I'm here to stay. The Shadow Phantom couldn't cut the mustard and now she's being replaced by me, as I put another pair of villains down for the count."

Several of the members of the media snapped photos, but the police stepped forward.

"Sorry, no autographs on the job, it shows a disturbing lack of professionalism," responded Adrenaline but the police had their nightsticks out and handcuffs.

"Come along quietly, we're afraid we have to put you under arrest, no matter how noble your attentions were and the fact your actions killed this man," responded one of the officers as they stepped forward.

"Killed him? Come on, what do you expect me to do? Just let him walk into your pathetic jails so he could walk out again and put more people in danger," remarked Adrenaline with a slight roll of her eyes. "What kind of idiot do you take me for? I saved you, I want my applause. I'm a hero, I should be worshipped as such, for putting two dangerous felons out of commission."

"Dangerous, they robbed a gas station, it wasn't like they were knocking off banks," responded one of the officers. "Now come along quietly or we will be forced to use lethal force."

"Step away and let me save my city or I will put you down just like that scum on the ground," answered Adrenaline with a smug look and the officers stepped forward, to secure her, but her strength had thrown them to the ground. The two officers crashed to the ground and Adrenaline sprung up. A vicious somersault kick and one of the officers crashed. A nightstick bounced off of her head but she spun around, barely feeling the blow and knocking the officer for a loop with a punch. She somersaulted, striking a pose for the cameras. "You fools, I can't be touched."

"Restrain yourself peacefully, or we will open fire," remarked one of the officers, but this was not a step he wanted to take. Adrenaline rolled her eyes, and a loud bang echoed. She was shot in the leg. She staggered back, only momentarily inconvenienced, before she removed the bullet from her leg. The bloodied bullet was dropped to the ground as Adrenaline launched herself forward. Her fist impacted the jaw of the officer she fought and he crashed to the ground. Another officer was grabbed around the throat and his head snapped backwards. Adrenaline turned to the watching ground, along several downed police officers.

"Now, your hero, your savior, has proven she is the only one worthy of protecting you, these goons go done faster than anything else," remarked Adrenaline smugly. "Naturally, as your heroine, I deserve some credit and some reward for your protection. A yearly fee of a million dollars should be enough for my presence. It is more than fair. I'm sure many of you will say you can do with out me that you don't need my protection. However, no one else in the city has proven themselves to be untouchable, unstoppable, and unbeatable. I dare anyone to prove me wrong."

"I accept that challenge," said the Shadow Phantom as she charged forward, before an uppercut was aimed right into the jaw of Adrenaline. The crowd watched eagerly as a sonic vibration echoed throughout the entire city block from the impact, causing people to scatter, as the Shadow Phantom stood over Adrenaline, who looked up, an enraged look in her eyes.

-

"Our contact in the media has given us a bit of news, Master," remarked Jammerhead, as "X" stood in the shadows, rather threateningly looking at him. "Adrenaline survived the explosion at the warehouse and her powers have increased tenfold. She is basically untouchable; she put down two punks and several cops with ease. Now she's brawling with the Shadow Phantom on the downtown area."

"Excellent, those two annoyances can destroy each other and we'll send the Techno-Mages to pick up the scraps," responded "X" as he looked at Jammerhead. "Make the necessary arrangements to get our forces in play and make sure the battle goes off without a hitch."

"At once, Master," replied Jammerhead eagerly, as he walked off.

"And just a word of warning, if you fail me this time, I will be most displeased," remarked "X" coldly to Jammerhead's retreating back, causing the scientist to wince. The lasted Cyberdroid failure and the loss of the super enhancer had caused his boss to be most displeased with him. Another failure or two and it could be his head.

-

"I'm surprised you decided to come after me, after the fact I utterly humiliated you," responded Adrenaline as she aimed a kick right at the Shadow Phantom but the Shadow Phantom dodged, before she expertly somersaulted into the air and landed on her feet. "I warned you, I can tell them at any time I can blow your little secret identity…"

"Why don't you then?" challenged the Shadow Phantom as she just narrowly evaded a punch before she spun around. Both fighters circled each other and her kick was blocked, before Adrenaline hoisted her up with surprising strength and slammed her down onto the ring. Adrenaline dodged up, head ducked in a somersault, before she slammed her fists down, with the Shadow Phantom dodging out of the way. Both fists struck the pavement but Adrenaline appeared to be none of the worse for wear. "You could do it right now, I doubt I could stop you."

"For once, you're right, you could never stop me, but it should have been obvious from the beginning, it took the super enhancer to increase my intelligence, but figure out that you were the Shadow Phantom," remarked Adrenaline as she grabbed her enemy by the arm, nearly ripping the arm out of the socket but the Shadow Phantom dropped, rolling and throwing Adrenaline. She nimbly landed on her feet. "Then I do realize that if I beat you like a drum her, to prove who the better heroine is, and unmask you for the entire world to see, then I will prove my superiority to you. It is only a matte of time before that little tin suit of yours runs out of power. Don't think I haven't calculated that you need to beat me within thirty five more minutes or you're done."

"Talk is cheap, especially coming from your mouth, Radcliffe," muttered the Shadow Phantom as she blasted up into the air, but Adrenaline dodged around. She landed hard and turned right into a kick that sent her flying backwards into a building. She smashed into the side of the building, battered, busted but still alive. Adrenaline hoisted her up by the helmet and threw her to the side.

"Now, it won't take long to crack open that little suit and reveal what's inside, Potter," muttered Adrenaline as she reached forward, before she aimed a punch. It impacted the suit. Another punch and the Shadow Phantom could feel her armor starting to rattle. Another punch, before Adrenaline slammed a kick right into the chest of the Shadow Phantom. She buckled, trying to get her hands on Adrenaline. "Give it up, you can't beat me. Anything you can do, I can do better and I can do everything you can't do, perfectly."

A blinding light from the Shadow Phantom's armor had caught Adrenaline off guard. The Shadow Phantom leapt up in the air and crashed a kick right into the face of Adrenaline. Another kick and Adrenaline was knocked off guard, before the Shadow Phantom removed a shuriken, trying to draw Adrenaline away from civilization, before someone could get hurt. The shuriken was deflected by Adrenaline but it was a chance for the Shadow Phantom to move behind. A net shot out of the arm. It wrapped around Adrenaline. To metallic rings were nets and they hooked around the arms and legs of Adrenaline. She struggled, thrashing around in the net but she was trapped.

"You won't beat me!" shrieked Adrenaline like a trapped howler monkey as she used her strength to break out, but she got kicked right in the face. She dropped to the ground and The Shadow Phantom gripped her by the hair, before yanking her forward and punching her right in the face. They were now in an abandoned ghetto area and The Shadow Phantom jumped up, before she sent Adrenaline crashing into trash cans. They dropped to the ground, but Adrenaline pulled herself up and grabbed the Shadow Phantom around the neck, before throwing her down to the ground. "It's over, you lost, you can't beat me."

With each word came a punch, as the armor crunched. The Shadow Phantom winced as the chest plate of her armor was severely dented and Adrenaline grabbed her helmet to remove it, but quickly worked her way to the back.

"Once I get these wires disconnected, I'll show your face to the world," said Adrenaline but The Shadow Phantom activated an added function, shooting chains from her arms that wrapped around Adrenaline. Adrenaline was caught off guard and the Shadow Phantom shifted her weight. Sliding through the legs, a tug of the chain caused Adrenaline to flip right onto her back. Adrenaline landed hard and the Shadow Phantom shot another net, which snaked around Adrenaline.

The Shadow Phantom collapsed to the ground, breathing heavily, hoping that would be enough to put down her persistent foe. Adrenaline struggled, the net was ripping, the chains snapped and she stood, breathing heavily.

"You have got to be kidding me," demanded the Shadow Phantom as she dodged the attack. Another attack was dodged and the Shadow Phantom aimed a punch but was blocked and Adrenaline twisted around. A pop signaled that her elbow was dislocated as she was slammed to the ground.

"Suit's running a bit sluggish, surely you can't be out of power right now," said Adrenaline with a wide grin, as she continue to punch the suit. There was a heavy amount of damage and the Shadow Phantom attempted to access a number of functions, many of them had been completely damaged by the pounding she suffered on the suit. Including the fail safe function that prevented people from removing the helmet and exposing her face to the world. Grace prayed that somehow, Adrenaline did not figure that little fact out. "Come on, Potter, why are you keeping this sad attempt to fight me up? It's obvious you can't beat me, you shouldn't even try. I will rip apart that costume one piece at a time, then exposing you to the world."

The Shadow Phantom struggled to her feet, her helmet protected her face from a vicious punch. Several more punches caused a slight dent but she twisted her positioning before she did a backflip, landing right behind Adrenaline, grabbing her enemy around the neck but she was flipped to her feet. The gauntlets hooked to the armor broke away, right into the hands of Adrenaline. Adrenaline held up the gauntlets but the Shadow Phantom gave a slight smile from underneath her helmet, an idea forming in her head.

"Rosaline, activate the gauntlet overload mechanism," muttered Grace underneath the mask. "Yes, I'm sure."

The gauntlets began to vibrate in Adrenaline's hands and her eyes widened in horror when she realized what was happen. The loud sonic vibrations had reacted very negatively with her mind, overstimulating it. The Shadow Phantom pulled herself to a standing position, as the sonic vibrations from the gauntlets continued to vibrate and Adrenaline shrieked in agony, her mind being pummeled by too many thoughts at once, that element of the super enhancer causing her mind to be founded.

"NO, STOP THIS, I CAN'T CONTROL THESE THOUGHTS!" shouted Adrenaline as the gauntlets exploded in her hands, the vibrations throwing her hard into a building. The building crumbled, burying Adrenaline in a stack of bricks. The Shadow Phantom looked at the hand of Adrenaline sticking out from underneath the bricks, before she dropped down, breathing heavily. The hand twitched briefly and there was a groan, but Adrenaline remained lifeless, buried under bricks.

Suddenly, a group of Techno-Mages dropped down. Grace looked up, her head was throbbing, these goons were the last thing that she needed to fight. The simulated wands were pointed at her but the Shadow Phantom dodged the attacks, despite the beating she suffered against Adrenaline, she ducked and dodged the attacks, before tucking her head and launching herself over her attackers with a somersault. She dropped to the ground and the Shadow Phantom threw several shuriken to the ground. They connected with the ground, causing massive explosions, taking the Techno-Mages down. She staggered back, as they kept coming but a helicopter came above, before several commandos dropped down to the ground, pointing their laser blasters.

"Take them out, back them off," ordered Agent Bishop as he dropped down, grabbing one of the Techno-Mages around the arm, before throwing him down to the ground. A kick staggered one of the Techno-Mages before the Shadow Phantom dodged an attack, before a nice backhand strike took her enemy down.

"Nice of you to show up, Agent Bishop," muttered Grace in a slightly sarcastic voice, but she disarmed one of the Techno-Mages with a kick, as Bishop's men backed them off with more laser blaster shows.

"Retreat!" shouted the leader of the Techno-Mages and the Shadow Phantom made a step to follow but Bishop grabbed her by the arm.

"Allow them to leave, we have more pressing matters to attend to, involving this Adrenaline fiasco," responded Bishop calmly as the commandos pulled the comatose body of Adrenaline out of the rubble. "Your parents have yet to return, so I can take you straight to the nearest Earth Protection Force base."

"How do you know they aren't home yet?" asked the Shadow Phantom in confusion as she looked at Bishop. "Have you been watching our house?"

"Yes, but that's not important, let us go," said Bishop coolly, as she was steered towards the helicopter. She was too beaten and battered to argue, and as Adrenaline was strapped to a stretcher, she was loaded onto the helicopter, that rose into the air and disappeared from sight a moment later.

-

"Intriguing, despite the fact she has been rendered catatonic because of her brain being over stimulated, she is uninjured, despite having a building fall on her and being struck with a full impact sonic blast," remarked Stockman as he looked over the battered for of Adrenaline, analyzing her from behind the force field. "The super enhancer has healed her body at a remarkable rate and if it had not been for ever brain being over stimulated at an accelerated rate, she would not have been captured and would have still been on a rampage. The super enhancer was causing her mind to be warped at an accelerated rate."

"Is there a cure?" asked the Shadow Phantom who could not help but feel just a little guilty at what happened to the girl who antagonized her so many years and had become a so called heroine just to hog the spotlight, along with showing Grace up.

"Perhaps one day, but I'm intrigued by the actual super enhancer," responded Bishop. "Someone who has access to such a potent and powerful chemical could be a dangerous threat."

The Shadow Phantom turned to Bishop, something told her that Bishop had other uses in mind than just trying to figure out who was behind this but she held her tongue. This battle with Adrenaline had taxed her both physically and mentally, to the point where she just wanted to get home and crawl into bed, to forget about the events of the past few days.

"There could be, after some tests, but this super enhancer, I've never seen anything like that or perhaps ever again, especially considering the batch she was knocked into as super charged by electricity, like you said, Miss Potter," stated Stockman in a calm tone of voice, as the Shadow Phantom nodded, taking her broken armor to be repaired before she headed home. Hopefully her parents had not beaten her there but if they did, she could tell them that she had gotten better and had gone out for a walk. It was remarkable how much her parents trusted her, if they bought her rather flimsy and often times paper thin excuses.

"I best be getting going now, it's starting to get late in the day," said the Shadow Phantom and Bishop gave her a nod, which Grace took it as her cue to leave. She walked out and once Bishop was certain she had left, he had turned right towards his lead scientist with a calculating expression on his face.

"Continue with the tests on young Miss Radcliffe and find a way to contain her, but the truth must never be revealed to Miss Potter of what she exactly is or any Potter for that matter, it is something that must be covered up at all costs, no matter what it takes," ordered Bishop and Stockman looked at him. "Do you hear me Stockman? Conclude any tests, put her in a containment cell, but not one word, alter anything on her DNA."

"It may have been altered in the transformation, Agent Bishop," said Stockman but Bishop shook his head.

"No, the super enhancer was based on my early work and while slight alterations of the DNA may be made, anyone who does enough digging could piece together the truth, I want that part of the official results altered and buried," said Bishop and Stockman turned, before the holographic image of his head nodded, they knew what was at stake. Keeping something for this extent from Harry and Ginny Potter had not been easy, but it was necessary. They had to keep it away from Grace, because if she knew the truth, who knew what would happen. It was essentially they kept everything involving Andrea Radcliffe/Adrenaline, under wraps.

-

"So the Shadow Phantom escaped yet again and now Bishop has Adrenaline," responded "X" in a cold voice, with Jammerhead cowering in the shadows, fearful at his punishment.

"Please master, I didn't mean to…" stated Jammerhead but "X" held up his wand and blew a hole through the wall, causing debris to fly in every which direction.

"Now that he has access to Adrenaline, he could have gotten the super enhancer from her blood stream and formulated a counter for it, so that plan is a bust, just like all of your little experiences, the mutants, the Cyberdroids, and my Techno-Mages are unsuccessful once again, all a dismal failure" stated "X" in a crude voice. "All I see is failure in every direction Jammerhead and our next plan better breed success, for your sake and the sake of everyone else."

"It will Master, it will, I swear," said Jammerhead but "X" waved a hand from the shadows, still obscured and Jammerhead took it as a cue to leave. He turned his back, to walk and kept walking, never turning his back, before "X" changed his mind about punishing Jammerhead.

"X" sat back, in the shadows, a frown appearing on his face. He was beginning to tire of the failures of Jammerhead, but his attacks had kept the Shadow Phantom occupied on several occasions, stealing many vital components for his ultimate plan and it would be carried out after a few more items had been secured. He was getting closer each day.

-

Grace arrived at school on Monday morning and the atmosphere looked rather cheerful and upbeat.

"Did you here what happened to Radcliffe?" asked one of the voices.

"Yeah, she took an experimental drug and got stoned out of her mind, thinking she was a super hero," remarked a boy with a smug look.

"The Shadow Phantom put her down though, she's now in a rehab facility, where she can get the help she needs," said another voice.

"Good riddance to her, never did like her anyway," said a girl, rolling her eyes, who just a few days ago, had been basically licking Andrea's shoes, when it was revealed she was Adrenaline and the papers put her across as a beloved heroine.

"Now the Shadow Phantom, that's a true hero, she put that phony in her place," said another voice and once again, Grace just gritted her teeth. People were so fickle, but she did not be the Shadow Phantom because it was easy. She did not do it for the fame, the accolades, and the adoration of the public. In fact, there were some days where she wondered why she even bothered, the days where she wanted to throw her armor into a scrap metal cruncher, and not look back. Yet, she continued to go out, fight the forces of evil, because it was just the right thing to do. It her head, it sounded like an overly sugary lecture about right or wrong, but somehow it appeared to be right, at least to her. She listened to her father's stories and realized that there were times where he did things that no one should have expected to do, but he did it everywhere.

Grace spotted Steven right by the side of the school and approached him, a smile on her face, as she walked over to her friend who might be slowly her boyfriend. Only time would tell exactly how that relationship evolved in time.

-

Andrea's eyes flickered open. She was fastened to the wall by thick metal shackles. She had been stripped of her Adrenaline costume and had been placed in ragged black clothes. All around her, there was a swirling white force field, which appeared to cancel out her strength and negate most of her powers. The visions of her defeat at the hands of the Shadow Phantom taunted her, but she knew was under the mask. However, she refused to loosen her tongue and spill the secret, to reveal to the world that Grace Potter and the Shadow Phantom were one and the same. Why should some other person learn the secret and steal her glory by using that knowledge to defeat the Shadow Phantom? Only one person was good enough to defeat her and that was Andrea Radcliffe, also known as Adrenaline.

No, as her mind had completed healing itself, Adrenaline would rise again and strike down the Shadow Phantom, proving who the true heroine was and her victory would be decisive. Luck had caused Adrenaline to lose, but next time, she would succeed.

Andrea Radcliffe was far from finished with Grace Potter and on that note, Adrenaline was far from finished with the Shadow Phantom. She was obsessed with her enemy and was the only one worthy to bring her down to her knees. It was not over.

Not by a long shot.


	10. Chapter 10: Slash N Burn

**Chapter Ten: Slash N Burn**

A government facility was busted into by a group of shadowed figures. The professional thieves known as the Techno Mages arrived, dropping down one by one by the ceiling and walked forward, wands drawn. One of them quickly moved to remove the security panel but found it had been already loosened and deactivated as well.

"Everyone on alert," muttered one of the Techno Mages as they moved forward, standing to the hallway, where a figure in a purple cloak that obscured his face had lifted a rare micro chip with interest.

"The benefactor I've been working for is going to pay big bucks for this thing," muttered the cloak figure, as the profits just rang up in his head.

"I don't think so, the Master is after that thing, so why don't you turn around nice and easy and give it to us," threatened the Techno-Mage before the cloaked figure turned around. While his face was obscured to the world, there was a smirk underneath his hood.

"I don't think that will be in the cards today, I know you are nothing but common thugs, I'm a professional and if it comes down to a fight, you really don't want to know what you're getting yourself into," said the hooded figure. "Perhaps you people have heard of me, if you've managed to learn to read. The name is Zixx, one of the greatest mercenaries and traffickers of bootlegged alien technology there is and I don't have time to play games with rank amateurs such as you Techno-Mages. So why don't you step aside and run home, tell your Master that a far better person got his hands on the microchip."

"We'll show you rank amateurs, you cocky little upstart, waste him!" shouted the Techno-Mages and they shot blasts of light from the wands, but Zixx did a somersault, landing on his feet, before he threw two orb shape objects at the ground. They struck the ground hard, emitting loud sonic vibrations that caused the Techno-Mages to stagger backwards, hands clutched other their ears. Zixx rushed forward towards them, a smoke bomb thrown to the ground, as the Techno-Mages choked on the smoke, before another figure dropped down. Zixx stepped back and he was surprised when he come face to face with the Shadow Phantom.

"Well the Shadow Phantom, I'm honored to meet your acquaintance," said Zixx with a bow but if the Shadow Phantom was impressed, she was not showing it.

"I don't know who you are, but if you're with the Techno Mages, you and I are going to have words," said the Shadow Phantom, who had been trailing the Techno Mages for the past week, in an attempt to find out what they were up to and now they came to this.

"Please, don't insult me, I would not associate myself with these rank amateurs, I'm a professional," responded Zixx. "The name is Zixx, intergalactic mercenary, trafficker of bootleg alien technology, and all around charming laid back guy. Look me up in the intergalactic yellow pages sometimes if you want a good time."

"I think I'll have to decline that offer and take you in, because I doubt that microchip you have is yours," responded the Shadow Phantom, but before she could attack, Zixx threw another smoke bomb at the ground, clouding her vision.

"Sorry, love to, but can't, really sorry too, things to do, places to go tonight but it looks like your friends are getting up so you could get reacquainted with them and I'll just be taking this microchip is a door prize,," said Zixx and sure enough, the Shadow Phantom turned to see a group of Techno-Mages, who looked very peeved that Zixx had made off with the microchip. It appeared they were going to take out their frustrations of the Shadow Phantom but she was ready for them. Several simulated spells spiraled towards her but the Shadow Phantom ducked the attacks, before she propelled herself up into the air. Her feet smashed down on the tops of their heads, causing them to crumple to the ground. Several more were struck down by kicks and a few nets shot out. The Techno-Mages were wrapped up and despite their struggles they were not going anywhere.

The Shadow Phantom breathed, but unfortunately despite the fact she had put several Techno-Mages out of commission, the illusive Zixx had struck. She knew nothing about this person and what his agenda in this entire mess was but was bound and determined to find out. Some digging needed to be done but for right now, she needed to sneak back home before she was missed now that her latest lead on the Techno-Mages had essentially turned up sour.

-

"The Techno-Mages failed to secure the microchip but I believe my latest plan will finally bring down the Shadow Phantom," said Jammerhead in a hopeful voice, hoping to earn points with his Master after recent failures constantly.

"For your sake Jammerhead, you better hope that you are not boasting prematurely, because my patience with you is reaching its end," responded "X", as while that microchip was needed, it was not a completely vital component. Still, because of its power, he wished he could have had his hands on it. It would have served his ambitions really well. "Do tell me this plan you have concocted and you best hope that I am impressed with whatever scheme you have because you may be out of options."

"This plan will not fail, just a few days ago, I stumbled upon an abandoned Earth Protection Force research facility, while most of the technology was non functional and in most cases obsolete, I did come across a containment tank, with a functioning computer database and there was a creature, preserved in suspended animation and the data about the creature impressed me, it was extraordinary," said Jammerhead in a thrilled voice. "It was an alien creature that had arrived on earth, strong, durable, a true warrior, and rather dangerous. The creature's name is Slash, he appears to be the last living member of a race of alien turtle creatures."

"Intriguing," said "X" as this information showed potential, more than any other of Jammerhead's plans as of late. "And it is still alive after all of these years."

"Indeed Master, it is and we can bring it back from its suspended animation and perhaps find a way to control it, to bring down the Shadow Phantom," declared Jammerhead in a thrilled voice but if "X" was impressed, it was not shown by the Techno-Mage leader. "Perhaps I should bring him in and show you of his potential, we have secured him and are removing the vital components that put him in stasis as we speak. With time I believe we can awaken him and he would be of a great help of us. I have him kept in one of our main laboratories."

"Patch in a communication link to that lab that you have this Slash creature stored in and contact me immediately, I wish to give the creature its orders personally, because I have a plan that will allow us to manipulate it to destroy the Shadow Phantom once and for all," said "X" and Jammerhead nodded, before he walked off, eager to please his boss. "X" awaited further news because this Slash could be a vital element to keeping the city's resident vigilante protector busy while they stole an extremely vital component to his plans, among the last three that were needed before he could complete it and then the city would kneel down before him.

-

"Anything on this Zixx character?" asked Grace hopefully, as she had stopped by the lab before school, with Rosaline about to head off herself after some last minute work. She had a break during her first period class. Grace watched as her cousin moved through the search results with frustration and they looked to be extremely bare.

"Very, very, little, I'm afraid, other than he's a notorious intergalactic fugitive wanted in twelve galaxies and fifty seven planets, including Earth, the Utrom Homeworld, the Triceraton Republic, and really the list goes on and one," responded Rosaline. "He's not wanted for murder or anything dangerous like that, just stealing a bunch of top secret plans and technology, before auctioning them off to the highest bidder."

"In other words, just a really sophisticated thief who works over a wide area," remarked Grace and Rosaline nodded. "Well, the people of fifty seven planets haven't been able to nail this guy once.."

"Or get any pictures of him, well any clear pictures of him, no one has ever seen his face, he covers it with a purple cloak all of the time," answered Rosaline and Grace sighed, he could be anyone in this city or he might not even be in the city. He could have just stopped by to do a job and split out of time. "I wouldn't worry too much about it Grace, it's not like you could have stopped him, he does seem like a master criminal."

"I do worry about these things, I feel like I'm letting someone down," said Grace in a bit of a depressed voice but she suddenly straightened up. "But on the bright side I did put those Techno-Mages behind bars, even though they will be back on the street in a few hours."

"One step at a time Grace and besides, we have that big family get together tonight, everyone is going to be there, well almost everyone, there are certain green skinned, shell backed family members who don't want to be in the presence of what happened years ago," said Rosaline with a sigh. "You thought they would have patched things up by now, Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny were talking about how Master Splinter would be ashamed of them for the way they're acting."

"I don't know, I was too busy being ill when all that went down and my memories from them were vague, besides not too many would have let mutant Turtles into a hospital room," responded Grace and Rosaline shook her head. "Dad's stories are all I have but he seems to avoid talking about him, in fact there are certain things I get the impression that he never wants to talk about."

"He has a past, what can I say, Mum said the same thing, Uncle Harry has valuable knowledge and experience when he is in the mood to share it but she can tell that he blames himself for what happened with his brothers and it just gets worse every year around Christmas, I know Aunt Ginny shares some of the blame as well," said Rosaline before they shook their head. "I think you might have met them a couple of times before the episodes started but I had a feeling you would have gotten along with all of them great. It's hard to say, they've moved on from the city and gone their separate ways."

"Well the past is the past, we can't change it, I have to meet up with Steven right after school but since it doesn't start until later because Hermione doesn't get off of work until six, it should be fine," said Grace.

"Right, have fun on your date," said Rosaline but Grace stopped, before she turned to her cousin with a disbelieving look.

"It's not a date, it's just two friends hanging out," responded Grace with a straight face but it was obvious she wondered if it was not turning into something more.

"Right, with a boy and a girl, it's never two friends hanging out, trust me, I know," responded Rosaline wisely and Grace wondered what her cousin was eluding to but there was little time to find out. "Unless its Uncle Harry and Hermione when they were younger that is, but other than that, exception rather than the rule and all that stuff."

"Right, I'll see you tonight, providing nothing happens in the city," said Grace.

"Nothing will happen, you're due for some good luck sooner or late, it should be a nice peaceful day," responded Rosaline but Grace just turned to her cousin with a slight smile.

"Now who's being naïve," responded Grace, but she turned and took the walk to school, classes began in fifteen minutes and she could not afford to be late, her Shadow Phantom obligations had caused her to cut it very short in recent weeks and it would make people wonder what she might be up to. It was lucky she was in high school right now, where people got easily distracted and forgot about such suspicions when the next fad came along. It was just a matter of waiting.

-

"Prepare to remove all stasis fields from around the prisoner," ordered Jammerhead to the team of scientists, as he looked at the perfectly preserved alien turtle in the tank. It would be his ticket to erasing all of the failures and he saw the eyes of "X" watching from the shadows on the images of the monitor. "Crank up the juice and prepare for anything. The beast might be an ill tempered savage when we release it, it could be bound to attack."

"I detect a heart beat and a pulse," responded one of the scientists.

"Proceed with releasing the monster from the tank then, what are you waiting for?" asked Jammerhead and the scientist cranked the dial on the tank, allowing the stasis fluid to drain from the tank. They look at the vicious alien turtle creature, who took a few tentative steps forward, its hand on its head, it looked dazed and confused, before it turned to the scientists, before its face contorted into a scowl.

"So you've decided to release me finally after keeping me as a prisoner for all of these years," growled Slash. "All I wanted to do was to gain my revenge and you had to stop it, all of you and lock me up like a freak, doing things to me…now my intelligence is almost gone, faded, but not nearly enough. All Slash wants is home and Slash's binky!"

Slash picked up the containment unit and heaved it in a childish fit. Whatever experiments Bishop had done had obviously had some lasting effects on the creature's mind, reducing it to a nearly toddler like state of intelligence but there were slight flashes of intelligence and reasoning. Still, the creature attempted to move though, but the scientists were ready with stun guns that stuck the creature in the back and the sides shocking it. Slash gave a pained grunt as he dropped to the ground, while the shadowed face of "X" looked at it with contempt and loathing.

"You say you want a home and a binky, what is your binky anyway?" asked "X" calmly.

"Slash's binky is his palm tree, it was his most favorite thing in the world…it was something I liked when I was young," said Slash, reverting back to his adult intelligence for a moment. "Slash want it back, man get it for Slash?"

"I know of an island full of palm trees that you can stay and flourish but it might not be there for much longer, as a bunch of evil people are going to cut them down and leave the island with nothing," said "X".

"THOSE VILE FIENDS!" shouted Slash angrily before he reverted back to his childlike state of mind. "Slash make mean people people…who is mean people who be doing this?"

"Many people are doing this but the most evil and fiend of them are is the Shadow Phantom, she has made it her mission to rid the world of all of the palm trees," responded "X" as an image of the Shadow Phantom. "However, I can help you beat her, give you something to make her pay, to stop her from doing this and then I will make sure to give you the island."

"What are you going to give me?" asked Slash.

"Weapons beyond your wildest dreams that will make the Shadow Phantom suffer but once you've defeated her, I want you to bring her here so I can expose her face to the world, because no one should be able to hide underneath a mask and victimize the world," said "X" in a calm voice and Slash nodded, fists clenched. "Jammerhead, give Slash the Devastator Cannon."

"But Master that is one of our…very well, I will do that right away," said Jammerhead in a deflated voice, as he backed off under the dangerous, deadly glare of "X" and moved forward, before moving forward and prying open the glass case, before he passed the Devastator Cannon to Slash. "This is one of our most dangerous weapons, but it should bring down the Shadow Phantom, under your hands, along with your natural fighting abilities."

"What else do I need?" asked Slash but Jammerhead just snickered in a very forced manner.

"With the Devastator Cannon, that is the only weapon you'll need, trust me on that one," said Jammered.

"My lead scientist does have a point but you must go out and draw out the Shadow Phantom in any way necessary, do not worry about harming innocent people either, they are not part of the solution but rather part of the ongoing problem in this city," responded "X" in a calm voice and Slash nodded, before he headed out.

"Now prepare to steal the hyper space engine, Jammerhead, devise a plan to do so while Slash is keeping the Shadow Phantom occupied," responded "X" and Jammerhead nodded, before he embarked on that endeavor and was ready to steal the vital item as intended.

-

"This is a strange place to transport someone with a Portkey," remarked Ron Wesley, as he touched down from the ground, with the rest of his family, under the watchful eye of two very surly and very mean spirited American Wizarding Government Aurors, who looked at them, almost daring them to try something, despite the fact it was only a man, a woman, and four children standing there, none of them who even had their wands out and ready to fight.

"Well the American Wizarding Government is very leery about the people who they want to let into the country," commented Luna lightly, as she looked at her husband. They had married a few years after they had begun dating after the war and later had four kids. Their oldest son, Edgar, was twelve years old, in the middle of his second year at Hogwarts. Rowena was ten years old and would be starting her magical education this year, even though she learned quite a bit of magic. Cassandra and Quinton were twins at seven years of age.

"Too true Luna," responded Harry who had arrived, much to the surprise of the Aurors, but they were not about to say anything. Despite Montague's best efforts, the name Harry Potter still commanded some respect in the American Wizarding Government. Harry leaned on his walking stick, his leg always acted up when the weather was cold. "Still it's nice you could stop by, even though I had to pull a lot of strings to get the Portkey."

"Well thank Merlin for you Harry, I doubt many people who have been able to get us in the country," responded Ron and Luna nodded gratefully. "How is Ginny and Grace?"

"Both of them are good right now, despite some recent misfortunes that I'm sure Ginny might have written to you about," responded Harry and Ron nodded, Ginny had went into both the Wraith and Master Magic episodes in great detail in the last letter they sent them. "Let's go now, it's a bit of a walk back out of the anti-Apparation zone, but the weather's not that bad, so it wouldn't be too much of a problem."

The group walked forward for a couple of minutes before a loud crash echoed throughout the city. Another crash echoed and Harry looked up, before he saw a green shape, with people watching in fear and running away.

"What in the blood hell is that?" asked Ron in a surprised voice.

"That looks like a large vicious turtle, dear," responded Luna.

"It's not one of them though," said Rowena in recognition, as she studied it. It was a large turtle, but definition not of the teenage, mutated, or ninja variety. It was something different, perhaps alien.

"Where did it come from?" asked Edgar but he spotted Harry looking at it, frowning at some sign of recognition, as it continued to smash though everything.

"Slash," said Harry.

"You know this turtle creature, I take it," responded Luna with a raised eyebrow.

"We've met," answered Harry shortly, as he withdrew his wand. The last he heard, Slash had been locked up in a government facility by Agent Bishop after he tried to gain his revenge on the Utrom Shredder for blowing up his Homeworld. However it was obvious that Slash was not going to be held in any prison for long. Harry motioned for the others to stand back and Ron and Luna took a few steps in front of their children, wands withdrawn and Edgar maneuvered himself in front of his younger siblings.

"Where are you Shadow Phantom?" asked Slash and Harry sent a stunning spell towards Slash but it bounced off of his skin and he turned to Harry. "You, I remember you! You stopped Slash from gaining revenge on his destroyer of Homeworld."

"That's right, but you did seem to be a bit more intelligent then so I do wonder what happened," remarked Harry and Slash jumped up to attack Harry but Harry, despite his crippling injuries, managed to outmaneuver the turtle. The large turtle dropped down and back handed Harry, causing him to crash to the ground.

"STUPEFY!" shouted Luna and Ron in unison but both spells bounced off of the hard spiked shell of Slash and he turned, his clawed hands raised.

"You puny humans shouldn't have made Slash angry, now I'm going to rip you limb from limb," growled Slash.

Grace had just heard the sounds of battle from nearby, after her date with Steven, for lack of a better term, had concluded. He had tried to coax him into stopping by to meet her parents but he apparently had other plans for this evening and once she was distracted by the sounds outside, she had no time to press the issue. She moved forward and saw her Uncle Ron and Aunt Luna, along with her cousins and her father fighting what appeared to be a large vicious turtle. Dodging inside of an abandoned building, Grace slipped the locket out of her bag. It was hero time.

"Slash will break you," growled Slash as he picked up a detached street lamp and swung it at Harry but Harry sliced through it with a spell, causing Slash to stagger back and Harry to pound him with a punch. Slash was staggered but he grabbed Harry by the throat, as Luna, Ron, Edgar, Rowena, Cassandra, and Quinton all looked petrified. "You stopped me last time from eliminating that bug Ch'rell, now I'm going to stomp you."

"Sorry, but I'm gong to have to put the ixnay on that," remarked the Shadow Phantom as she propelled forward, knocking Slash to the ground. Cassandra and Quinton looked on in awe, being young children, they were astonished by super heroes. Slash looked up and his face contorted into an ugly scowl in recognition before he swung a fist at the Shadow Phantom, who back flipped out of the way.

"You, you tried to break Slash's binky, now Slash will break you!" growled Slash.

"Great, I'm being blamed for something I never did, and not for the first time," said the Shadow Phantom as she shot a photon blast out of the wrist gauntlet of her armor. It struck Slash but Slash slammed his arms to the ground, which caused the Shadow Phantom to notice a large cannon strapped over his shoulder for the first time. "At least he didn't use that big cannon strapped over his back."

Slash removed the Devastator Cannon and began to open fire on Grace, who dodged the assaults, barely avoiding getting hit. Two more shots were very narrowly avoided once again.

"Me and my big mouth," muttered the Shadow Phantom, but a shuriken hit Slash in the hand, causing him to drop the cannon. Another blast and a net flew towards him, but Slash grabbed the net and ripped it to shreds. He moved towards his cannon but the Shadow Phantom propelled herself up and went for a kick which Slash caught and heaved her to the ground with ease.

"Freeze, American Wizarding Government Aurors, you're under arrest for disturbing the piece," said the lead Auror and Harry rolled his eyes, obviously in disgust at them just blatantly broadcasting the fact that there were witches and wizards out there. Slash just grunted and the Aurors raised their wands, before jabbing them, causing magically created sonic vibrations. All the people in the area were effected, with the exception of Grace, who had her helmet shielded to prevent sonic attacks from getting though.

None were more effected that Slash.

"The noises, make them stop, Slash's head is splitting!" shouted Slash as he ripped up a piece of pavement and flung it at the Aurors and threw it at them, but they blasted it out of the way. Slash picked up the Devastator Cannon and ran off but the Aurors turned to the Shadow Phantom, rather then going after Slash.

"As for you Shadow Phantom, you are under arrest," responded one of the Aurors in a gruff voice. "On the orders of Chief Executive Officer Montague, for your crimes and vigilante activities…"

Several of the Aurors attempted to send spells at the Shadow Phantom, who felt a large amount of frustration, as she dodged around, before she flicked an exploding shuriken, careful to only direct it towards the Aurors, before she activated the cloaking field around her armor and left as the Aurors just managed to catch their breath.

"What was that all about?" demanded Ron angrily to the Aurors as Luna winced. He did have a tendency to put his foot in his mouth and act out at the worst times possible. "In case you didn't notice it, the Shadow Phantom saved our lives from that thing and now you attempt to hex her like she was the one responsible for this."

"Well…Montague's orders, we had no choice," said one of the Aurors making Ron feel bad, it was obvious that none of the Aurors really had any problems with the Shadow Phantom but they were just following the orders of Montague. Their boss on the other hand had some kind of problem and had a bone to pick with the Shadow Phantom.

"We should just get out of here, before something else happens," remarked Luna to her children and husband, all of them nodded.

"Yes, it's only around that corner and we've passed the Anti-Apparation Zone," remarked Harry.

-

"Bishop said he was locked up," said Ginny in surprise, as Harry was telling her about their encounter with Slash, as Hermione had just arrived, and Lily had been there the entire afternoon and Sirius had said he would try to swing by but it looked like he might not be able to get off of work in time.

"Everything that comes out of Bishop's mouth is either a half truth at best or a complete distortion of reality, whatever you prefer," said Harry. "I don't even know what Bishop did to him in his experiments but it looked like we're dealing with something that is both childishly unstable and really dangerous to boot."

"I just hope that it doesn't become too much of a problem," said Ginny and Harry nodded, obviously having similar, often time, misplaced hopes. "Let's go talk to our guests and try to push this matter from our minds."

"We'll try but the success is something that I'm skeptical about," said Harry.

-

"He's out there someone still," responded Rosaline in a quiet voice, as she watched her little brother, talk to the twins. Frankie looked both excited about being filled in about the Shadow Phantom's latest exploits and dangerous. "And he's after you for some reason."

"Isn't every crack pot in this city after me?" asked Grace as she shook her head. "I don't know, he just seems like he's been wound up tight about something, this Slash character and someone has sent him loose on me. I hope those sonic attacks made him retreat for the night so I don't have to deal with him, because with this many people around, it's going to be hard to sneak off."

"Well if he shows up again, maybe we can wire something into the armor, that could mimic the sonic spells that backed of him off in the first place," said Rosaline before she smiled. "Then again, you might already have something, if you adjusted the frequency of power amplifiers, just enough to emit large sonic vibrations but not enough to blow your suit up."

"That might work but right now let's join the party, people might overhear something after too long," remarked Grace and Rosaline nodded as the two girls moved over to join the fun.

-

Slash angrily plowed though a factory. The funny dressed men with the sticks had tried to hurt him try to stop him from beating the Shadow Phantom, take his binky. For a brief moment when his adult intelligence had returned, Slash wanted to kill himself for thinking such childish thoughts but he also wanted to mangle the Shadow Phantom for what she was doing. What fiend would wipe out such a treasure like palm trees.

Agent Bishop dropped down, lead by commandos and Doctor Stockman in his robotic egg body on metallic spider legs. Bishop waved the commandos inside, as Slash continued to go on a rampage.

"He's caused severe property damage throughout the city, and for what?" asked Stockman.

"Someone's found him, we never we able to go back to retrieve him from that lab we had to evacuate during the Tengu Shredder's assault many years ago and now Slash is tearing the city apart, and he's riled up about the Shadow Phantom, based on all of the witness accounts," responded Bishop calmly as he looked at Stockman, whose holographic head nodded. "I just hope we can stop him in time, my experiments on him, while invaluable to our ongoing efforts to protect the Earth, have rendered him rather unstable."

The commandos moved forward as Slash ripped though the fence with great ease.

"WHERE IS THE SHADOW PHANTOM?" shouted Slash angrily as if he was a child being denied sweats or toys.

"I don't know about her, but I'm right here, Slash and you will come along quietly or suffer the consequences," responded Bishop and Slash turned, before he gave an angry bellow, looking at Bishop.

"You, Slash remember you, you do things to Slash's brain!" growled Slash as he smashed through the commandos, who opened fire, but their laser fire had just bounced off the large frame of Slash. "I'll never forgot, you're the reason that I'm this way and Slash smash you!"

"Open fire, lethal ordinance is authorized," responded Bishop as they opened fire, but Slash angrily knocked them to the ground. They crumpled to the ground and Bishop leapt up, before he rocked the large turtle with an attack. He grabbed Slash by the arm and flipped him to the ground but Slash bounced up with ease and pummeled Bishop with a kick.

"You don't hurt Slash any longer," responded Slash with a snarl, as he grabbed Bishop's head and attempted to crush it. Bishop winced, as his skull was about to be crushed but the Shadow Phantom shot out of nowhere before she struck Slash right in the back with both feet. Slash hit the ground hard.

"Where were you?" asked Bishop.

"Christmas party, I do have a life outside of this armor you know," remarked the Shadow Phantom.

"Well you couldn't have shown up at a better time," said Bishop as Slash growled, before he punted the robotic body of Baxter Stockman right over the fence. Stockman shrieked as it broke open, causing sparks to fly in every direction. Stockman winced, his metallic limbs twitching as Slash knocked Bishop to the ground and the Shadow Phantom sprang into the air, landing on her feet firmly with a back flip and throwing shuriken right at him but he deflected it.

"Slash smash you," grunted Slash savagely.

"With words like that, you're beginning to sound like another large green guy," responded the Shadow Phantom but Slash smashed his fist right into her armor. Thankfully there was not much damage, as she fell to the ground and quickly held the adjusted power amplifiers. She hoped this worked and she hoped really soon. She aimed it at Slash and Slash suddenly backed off, as the hyper sound waves assaulted his ear drums.

"Slash not like the noise, make it stop!" bellowed Slash as he clutched his ears and Bishop removed a cannon, before he shot a reinforced net around Slash. It wrapped around the turtle, dropping him to the ground. Slash struggled against its titanic grip but there was no easy way out.

"Now what were you after," demanded Bishop as he looked at Slash.

"Shadowed man said that Shadow Phantom was going to destroy all palm trees, shadowed man give big island of palm trees to Slash if he breaks Shadow Phantom in half," remarked Slash as he shook his head.

"I didn't have anything to do with that," said the Shadow Phantom in a firm voice. "I'm only fifteen years old, why would I be destroying palm trees?"

"Slash don't know," said Slash who thought it might be possible that he was lied to.

"Who was the name of the shadowed man?" asked Bishop curiously but Slash had no information on this front, not that it was hard to figure it out. The Techno-Mages were involved somehow, they both knew it. Bishop turned to the Shadow Phantom. "I shall take care of this, return home before you are missed."

Grace was not arguing, Slash had gotten in a few brutal shots but the battles with Adrenaline and Wraith were more dangerous.

Bishop picked up the Devastator Cannon and walked off with it, as his men dragged off the trapped Slash.

-

Sometime later, Bishop walked by the Earth Protection Force government jail passed doors that had Radcliffe, Andrea; Mondo, Timothy; Knox, Jacob; and Malfoy, Luther, on the doors. Bishop looked in on his newest prisoner, Slash, where a virtual reality helmet was on his head. He had imagined that he was in a paradise full of palm trees and as long as the helmet had stayed on, he would not know the difference and neither would the Shadow Phantom.

-

"Failure once more," responded "X".

"We got the components you need," said Jammerhead.

"But not the Shadow Phantom and what was worst, you lost the Devastator Cannon to Agent Bishop," responded "X" crudely.

"It was your plan to give the creature that weapon," responded Jammerhead.

"It was your plan to use Slash and now we lost one of our most valuable weapons to an enemy," responded "X" in a chilling voice. "Soon, you will understand the ramifications of your actions and you had best hope that I am in a forgiving mood when it comes time to deal with it."

Jammerhead gulped, he just had a feeling his days might just be numbered.


	11. Chapter 11: Enter the Jammerhead

**Chapter Eleven: Enter the Jammerhead**

The Shadow Phantom helped people out of the way as a trio of Cyberdroids moved forward, intention of plowing her into the ground, along with everyone and anything that got in their way. She dodged the attack, as one of its arms spun into a Kusari-Gama chain and swung towards her. She dodged and deflected the attack. Another attack was deflected and she moved forward, but the second Cyberdroid's arms converted into shuriken cannons and began to blast the Shadow Phantom with a series of shots that she avoided, deflecting each and every shuriken out of the way whenever possible before she gracefully somersaulted out of it and blasted it right in the chest. It was rocked but not enough and the third Cyberdroid moved in, arms like razor sharp katanas and it swung, but the Shadow Phantom deflected each shot, barely able to back off from them and dove underneath the attacks. A net was sliced into ribbons but she propelled herself up, hanging from the light post as the shuriken cannon cyberdroid moved forward. She quickly flipped out of the way, allowing the shurikens to plunge into the armor of the katana cyberdroid denting it.

"Try this on for size," remarked the Shadow Phantom as she threw two exploding shuriken into the Cyberdroid with the shuriken cannon. It caught inside the cannon which overloaded and promptly exploded, sending shurikens flying in every direction. It was just barely that the Shadow Phantom was able to keep them away from hitting innocent bystanders. Unfortunately, the final Cyberdroid was still on and it flung its chain. The sickle hooked into the armor, but the Shadow Phantom hung on, before she sent vibrations from her suit of armor. It rattled the Cyberdroid enough so she quickly sprung up, wrapping the chain around the robot. The cyberdroid struggled and a kick was aimed right in the chest, dropping it to the ground. It crashed down hard and another blast from her armor ripped it into shreds.

The Shadow Phantom staggered forward and collapsed to the ground, before she moved off, as the sounds of sirens echoed throughout the neighborhood. She needed to get home before she was missed. It was winter vacation and a snow storm was coming, so she did not want to be caught up in that either.

-

"Jammerhead, those Cyberdroids were the final straw, time and time again, I have given you unlimited capital and opportunities, but you failed me and this was the latest, spectacular, failure," said Jammerhead as Techno-Mages stood on either side, threatening him with their wands.

"Please, the Cyberdroid Supreme would have worked, had you given it a chance, I just had some bugs to iron out and their weaponry was deadly, but it is strength in numbers and more of them would…" stated Jammerhead but he got a wand to his throat, a blade transfigured out of the end of it.

"Your Cyberdroid Supreme failed me, just like every other plan you brought to me as failed," responded "X" coldly. "But perhaps there is one final component missing to make your Cyberdroids a complete success. After all, there is so much you can control from the outside and it is obvious that we need to combine machine durability with human intelligence and reflexes."

"What are you saying, Master?" asked Jammerhead as his eyes widened in fear. The truth was he had a shrewd idea exactly what his master was telling him and he did not like it one bit. Not at all, but the Techno-Mages on either side had grabbed him, before dragging him to the side.

"Take Jammerhead and the newly finished Cyberdroid Supreme, the one that can morph its limbs into a variety of martial arts implements along with phasing though solid objects and throw them into the elemental fusion chamber," said "X" coldly.

"What, you can't do that!" shouted Jammerhead in a loud voice, but thick cables wrapped around him as the Techno-Mages dragged him off. "That's only meant for organics, when fusing together man and machine, there's no telling what might happen!"

"Then you should be an intriguing test subject, you are a scientist, I have little doubt your curiosity would be heightened with the results of this little experience," remarked "X" calmly as Jammerhead was thrown into the Elemental Fusion Chamber, with several more Techno-Mages pushing his Cyberdroid Supreme on the inside. Jammerhead pounded on the wall of the chamber, as it was sealed shut but there was no way that "X" would allow him to escape his punishment. Calibrate the elemental fusion chamber to activate on a time release and then evacuate the lab. Obviously, we don't want anyone useful to perish in this experiment."

"Right, Master," said one of the scientists, who looked thrilled at the potential competition in the organization being eliminated.

"And Jammerhead, don't worry, despite the fact that you will no longer be my lead scientist, you still will be a valuable tool for this organization, providing you survive this experiment," responded "X" as his eyes looked from the shadows maliciously at Jammerhead from the monitor. Jammerhead looked horrified as the lab was evacuated as both he and the Cyberdroid Supreme was bombarded by a heavy level of radiation.

"NO!!!" shouted Jammerhead in a pained voice, as he felt his brain melting down as computer chips were fused to it, the skin fused to the metal, rewiring his bones into circuitry. It was pain beyond anything else he had ever imagined, as he felt his organs being shredded to nothing, to be replaced by more computer circuitry. He breathed one last breath before his lungs were gone and then collapsed, the newly created cyborg having his arms twitching in every direction before he deflated.

-

"So while we've had some luck with trying to find a more permanent cure to cause someone with your unique condition to be able to perform magic, we haven't been able to get anything for a case as advanced as yours, Grace" remarked Hermione at the table the following morning, she was staying at the Potter residence for the day, along with Ron, Luna, and their children.

"It's not too pressing, while I want to perform magic one day, I'm getting used to living without it," said Grace and Hermione just smiled at her goddaughter.

"Most witches and wizards would die if they had to go just one day without magic, it runs their entire life," said Hermione and Grace just rolled her eyes at the thought of these people. "Going an entire day without magic would be too much for them."

"Most people should be required to go at least a week without magic, just so they can see what it's like," said Rowena who had just joined them. The ten year old girl always seemed a bit wiser beyond her years than Grace had remembered being at that age. "Perhaps they would understand and fix problems like yours."

"Not much of a problem but an inconvenience," responded Grace with a smile. "I've gone without magic so long, it's just…"

"I know, being with it would be a bit strange and something that you might not be able to deal with but if anyone can deal with it, it would be you, Grace," responded Rowena. "As bad as it is over in the United Kingdom sometimes, it's lucky we don't live here. All the Techno-Mage problems and the American Wizarding Government attacking people who try to help out."

"It might be rough but it is home and after the last fifteen years, I've really learned to get used to it," said Grace.

"I don't know how, but I spent most of my time travelling, and not staying in one area," said Hermione. "It's just a lot easier on my nerves, that way I don't have to deal with the problems of one place."

"At once this was a great country, until after Dad defeated Voldemort then one thing lead to another, and everyone decided to try and latch onto this country, turning it into what it was," said Grace. "It wasn't perfect…"

"Nothing is but the people who do try and make a difference, it's appreciated, just like Uncle Harry, he never gave up, until he had to and it took more to force his hand than anything else that I would have ever experienced," responded Rowena as she heard some noises from upstairs. "That could be the twins, they just can't stop talking about the Shadow Phantom. It annoys Edgar to no end, he's a bit too serious for his own good I think but I think the Shadow Phantom is something that the world needs. So while Quinton and Cassie's worship can be a little…fanatical sometimes, it's understandable."

"Well I'm sure they're not the only one's who appreciate the Shadow Phantom's hard work," remarked Hermione and Grace nodded, why did everything in her life revolve around her masked alter ego, even with people who did not know who she was under the mask. "Still, as Harry once reminded me, the right thing is not done because it's appreciated, it's done because it's the right thing to do."

"Dad said the same thing to me, Mum did as well come to think of it, but people do like to make it difficult," said Grace.

"Yes, they do," agreed Harry who had joined them, followed by Ginny.

"Oh good morning Harry, we were just talking about the Shadow Phantom and the excellent job that she's doing for the city," said Hermione who stopped when she realized what she had said.

"Well someone has to be there for everyone," said Harry evasive as he took his morning coffee, yawning. "Uphill battle or not, something has to be done by someone. Evil never dies, but there are times where I think heroism is terminally ill."

Ginny said nothing, Harry got like this every year, this close to Christmas. It was a good time of year, as that was the day they had began dating back in Harry's fourth year at Hogwarts and Ginny's third, but it was also brought back memories of what happened regarding the Turtles and even more the death of Master Splinter at the hands of Lord Voldemort. She felt bad as well and felt guilty that there was only so much to do to help Harry but it was something that had to be done.

-

In the lab, Jammerhead in his new Cyberdroid form was strapped down on an operating table, with a group of scientists fusing a special computer chip right on the base of his neck.

"Ensure that the compliance chip is place, we wouldn't want any human free will to somehow compromise the control that we have over the Cyberdroid," ordered "X' as the scientists continued to work, fusing the computer chip back into the brain.

"Activate the Cyberdroid Supreme," ordered the new lead scientist, as several shock currents fluctuated throughout the lab as Jammerhead came back to life, his fingers twitching, before the straps snapped, holding on the operating table.

"Man it feels great to be in a new shell," giggled Jammerhead in a slightly crazed manner.

"The computer circuitry fried his brain when it was fused to his cerebral cortex," responded one of the scientists helpfully but the eyes of "X" showed no pity, but rather amusement at his former lead scientist being reduced to this.

"His brains were useless to me before so it matters little, but this form has been enhanced, combining the best qualities of an average human body with the best qualities of the Cyberdroid Supreme model," said "X" in a triumphant voice as he looked at Jammerhead.

"Brains, who needs brains we you are the ultimate Cyberdroid Supreme like me, baby," said Jammerhead. "You thought I was great before, but "X", my man, I'll be popping right now in this new shell. All sorts of features, I will prove my worth to you."

"This time, the Shadow Phantom will be annihilated, Jammerhead," responded "X". "Each of your dismal creations failed in the past but now I have given you the tools, fused your human body with the Cyberdroid Supreme and now you will be ready to eliminate the Shadow Phantom."

"No sweat, Master, she's as good as gone, I can sense all sorts of complex ninjitsu moves, all that karate hoo-hah and hi-yah is flowing in my data banks right now," cackled Jammerhead who rocked back and forth, sitting on the operating table with a crazed expression on his face, which was only the only expression he could give, with all of his nerve endings being fried from the experiment.

"Leave then and seek out the Shadow Phantom, leave just enough for us to unmask her," ordered "X" and Jammerhead sprang up, before he gave his boss a salute and quickly got up, phasing through the wall before he disappeared. "Either he finally succeeds or the Shadow Phantom annihilates him for good. Either plan will work in my favor."

"X" disappeared; he needed to capture the second to last component of his plan today while the Shadow Phantom was busy dealing with the new and improved Jammerhead, the Ultimate Cyberdroid Supreme.

-

In her Shadow Phantom armor, Grace watched the city. The snow had come down slightly but it was not too much of a problem. Then again, in New York, snow could turn from a minor inconvenience into a disaster in the blink of an eye. She had to watch for any signs of crime as it was four days until Christmas. Perhaps the thieves had taken a holiday.

A bank alarm echoed throughout the city and Grace sighed. Unfortunately, crime appeared to not be something that would take a holiday. She dropped down, as a pair of men in sky masks exited the bank, laughing at their ill gotten gains. They would not be laughing for long.

-

Jammerhead dropped down with a grin on his face as he looked outside of a high priced clothing store. People shopping here would have loads of cash and thus that meant loads of opportunity for loads of mayhem. He walked forward, before he pushed the door open, his hands morphing into battle axes, as he walked forward, a bunch of stuffy old arrogant rich ladies were shopping here. A sales clerk, dressed in a fancy suit walked forward, as he looked at Jammerhead with contempt.

"Sir, unless you can prove that you can afford our extravagant prices, I'm afraid I'm going to ask you to leave," responded the sales clerk in a snooty voice but he raised his battle axes into the air and sliced them into a coat rack, causing several fur coats to be ripped in half as several ladies screamed at the destruction.

"Now, listen here, Jeeves, I'm here to help you slice your prices in half," remarked Jammerhead in a crazed voice as he raised his arms, which morphed into twin laser blasters as he pointed them steadily at the patrons, who were shaking with absolute terror, mortified at what they faced. "Now, listen to me you rich old bags. Money, jewelry, keys to your fancy foreign cars, it doesn't matter, cough it up or you won't suffer a nasty case of laser burn. Right on the floor, where I can see them, that's it."

Several wads of cash and jewels dropped to the ground as Jammerhead's morphed one of his arms into a vacuum cleaner, while he pointed it to the ground, sucking up all of his ill gotten gains before storing them where his stomach once was. While he was supposed to be dealing with the Shadow Phantom, there was no reason why he couldn't make a little side profit as well.

"Now, you, open up the cash register and dump all the money on the floor, before I have to turn your skull into a sun roof," threatened Jammerhead and the store clerk quickly opened up the cash register, as Jammerhead looked smug, like a snake cornering his prey.

-

After wrapping up the thieves, the Shadow Phantom prepared to make one more quick sweep of the city, before she headed on home. Several loud screams echoed and there were frightened people fleeing a nearby high priced clothing store, with laser blasts cutting though the air. In a flash she moved forward, before she saw a figure moved into the shadows. It turned slowly as she tried to piece together. At first, she thought it was a Cyberdroid but it looked to be something much more human and it was grinning at her.

"Shadow Phantom, I hoped to see you here today, you and I am going to have a blast," said Jammerhead as he aimed his laser blaster at the Shadow Phantom but she dodged out of the way of the attack before she sprung up, aiming a kick but it only backed Jammerhead off a half of a step, before he hoisted up the Shadow Phantom and effortlessly heaved her through the open door. "All the times you foiled my plans, well guess what it's payback time and you will be paying me back with more interest than you could afford but I'll take what I can get."

"Just who are you anyway?" asked the Shadow Phantom in confusion as she ducked a punch that was almost quicker than her reflexes. "Most importantly, what are you?"

"Me, I'm the ultimate evolution of man and machine, in a past life, I was Michael Jammerhead, lead scientist for the Techno-Mages, but now I am Jammerhead, the Ultimate Cyberdroid Supreme, waiting to do a number on you," said Jammerhead and the Shadow Phantom was knocked off balance with a spinning phoenix punch. She winced, she had never been able to pull of that move and this nut job had just caught her in one move, before he morphed his vacuum cleaner arm into a large iron mace, which he swung around to gain momentum. "I'm going to mace your face, you little upstart."

The Shadow Phantom dodged the attack, before she ran up a wall and landed behind Jammerhead but he spun around, cracking her right in the face. She dropped to the ground from the impact of the attack and Jammerhead head his arm up, turning into a rotating drill. She remembered this attack being done by one of the Cyberdroids she fought in the past and she was just barely able to block it. Jammerhead attempted to force it through, but the Shadow Phantom tucked her feet underneath his chest plate. With all the leg strength she could manage, she kicked him off. Jammerhead landed on the ground but rocked his feet back and sprung back to his feet, before he shot out a chain, with a large sickle at the end. The Kusari-Gama chain whacked against the Shadow Phantom, backing her off, punishing her with a variety of assaults.

"You see that, you can't beat me," cackled Jammerhead but the Shadow Phantom grabbed the chain, before she pulled it, activating the power amplifiers on her gauntlets and reared back, hitting Jammerhead. He was rocked backwards but only for a moment. That punch would have knocked a normal human out for at least a week but Jammerhead grabbed her around the head, scissoring his legs around her body, before he rocked backwards, propelling them right towards the side of a building, Jammerhead looking to hit first.

"Stop, can't you see you'll hit first, are you crazy?" managed the Shadow Phantom.

"Yep," responded Jammerhead as he phased out of reality at the last minute, passing though the wall and causing the Shadow Phantom to smash into the wall. She fell back, staggered and wounded, but struggled back to a standing position before Jammerhead stuck his head out. "I can phase though solid objects and since you can't…that hurt you more than it did me."

The Shadow Phantom reached for the head of Jammerhead but he phased back though the wall. Suddenly his hand popped out, cracking the Shadow Phantom right in the face. Another shot right to the face rocked her backwards.

"Peek-a-boo," cackled Jammerhead with two more punches, before he completely phased out of the wall and raised his arms, now converted as sickles, before he clanged them across the armor of the Shadow Phantom, backing them off. "I'll see how many scratches it takes to get to the center of the Shadow Phantom's armor."

"Well, guess what, the world will never know," muttered the Shadow Phantom as she managed to kick Jammerhead off but not before he scratched the hell out of the armor, but did not reach any vital functions of it. The cyberdroid smashed into the fire hydrant, breaking it open, causing his legs to become very sluggish.

"Pardon me for one second," said Jammerhead as he blasted the Shadow Phantom backwards with a laser blast as he staggered forward, his legs feeling like they were weighed down after they were touched by water but he blasted open a window and then his arms spun into lassos, before he grabbed several cans of oil. Pouring them onto his legs, he suddenly got them working properly again just as the Shadow Phantom struggled to her feet, having smashed right into a pile of bricks. "And now back to your regularly scheduled bludgeoning."

Jammerhead converted his arms to laser blasters and attempted to blast the Shadow Phantom with them but she dodged. She noticed that he had a very distinct weakness but she was too busy avoiding being hit to exploit it now. If only she could slow him long enough to get him in position. A pair of exploding shuriken was blasted with ease away from Jammerhead, before he transformed his arm into the shuriken cannon.

"How about trying my shuriken on for size," cackled Jammerhead, as several razor sharp shuriken sped though the air at the speed of light. Shadow Phantom looked over her shoulder, towards an abandoned factory, if only she could lure Jammerhead in there, it would be away from civilization.

"C'mon is that the best you can do!" taunted the Shadow Phantom, but quite frankly, some of those shots made sizeable dents into the parked cars on the streets that they fought and she really could not afford for him to take much better shots until she got him away from civilization. "Hit me with everything you've got, you can't stop me with those puny shots."

"I'll hit you with it alright," said Jammerhead as he rushed forward, blasting at the Shadow Phantom but she dodged the attack and managed to push her way into the factory. If her calculations were correct, there would be a sprinkler system that could be used but right now, Jammerhead needed to be stalled and she propelled herself onto the catwalk before she kicked some crates down towards the Cyberdroid. This effort only served to slow Jammerhead down but she shot a net that tightly wrapped around Jammerhead, trapping him.

"Finally," breathed the Shadow Phantom but one of Jammerhead's arms were now a deadly looking buzzsaw that sliced right though the net and he kept moving forward, ready for the attack. "You've got to be joking me."

"I joke sometimes but this is far from a trifling manner," responded Jammerhead as his arms morphed into thick cords that wrapped around the Shadow Phantom, dragging her from her perch before they swung her around. Jammerhead looked smug as she laid up, before he leapt up and sliced his way into the wooden support beams holding the factory up. "Well this fight, it brought the house down."

Jammerhead cackled like a mad man as he threw himself out the window as the factory collapsed right on top of the Shadow Phantom. Armor or not, there could have been no way for her to survive that. He was not going to even bother to look back, now that he gained his revenge, he had crimes to commit.

-

Down in the sewers below the factory, The Shadow Phantom was on her hands and knees, just barely throwing herself though the entrance to the basement and escaping through the sewers before the entire building came down. Still as she struggled to get to her feet, nothing appeared to be injured, except for maybe her pride and she lost Jammerhead.

"Back to square one, I don't know how I get myself into these messes," grumbled the Shadow Phantom but she struggled on, brushing the debris off of her shoulder before she looked towards the nearest manhole cover. She would not be denied, especially now that she had a proper amount of time to figure out a way to exploit the one key weakness that Jammerhead appeared to have.

-

"Look at this bank, a prime target just waiting to be cleaned out," remarked Jammerhead with a smug voice, as he stepped forward, but a beeping in his ear had stopped him. "Talk to me, boss."

"Jammerhead, has the Shadow Phantom been annihilated yet?" asked "X"

"Sure thing boss, just rubbed her out a few minutes ago, will be heading back to base soon enough with her tattered remains to present to you," responded Jammerhead which was a half truth. He would go back and dig the Shadow Phantom's corpse out of the wreckage, after he cleaned out a few banks.

"Very well then, I will await your arrival, Jammerhead and do not stall for too long or I will send people to retrieve you," responded "X".

"Right," commented Jammerhead with about as much sarcasm as a cyborg could manage before he walked forward, drilling off the hinges from the bank door, before he opened them up and walked inside. He stepped into the bank with a smug expression on his face and raised his two hands, turning them into jackhammers where he began to break down the vault door of the bank. It continued to pound the bank door echoing. It just made things a bit simpler when the bank in question was closed today but not that it mattered. Quickly he cracked open the vault door and his eyes widened, when he saw huge stacks of cold hard cash. "Yes, happy birthday to me."

Jammerhead walked forward and began to scoop up the money and stuff it into a bag that his arm had morphed into. His stomach cavity had been a bit full but he would dispose of it at his apartment before he continued to move onto the next bank.

"I hope you weren't planning on making a withdrawal too much today," said a voice and Jammerhead paused, before he turned and saw the form of the Shadow Phantom standing in the entrance of the bank, hands on her hips.

"What…I saw you destroyed, an entire factory collapsed on you, you can't be alive," said Jammerhead.

"And if you didn't check for a body, then you really must be stupid," said the Shadow Phantom but Jammerhead responded by laughter.

"Well, you have my number, tripped up by the oldest cliché in the book, sorry, won't happen again," said Jammerhead as he jammed his arm into the ground, rumbling the ground with a converted jackhammer that propelled the Shadow Phantom high into the air, knocking her down. Jammerhead rushed forward and swung his jackhammer enhanced arm but the Shadow Phantom ducked and shot a metallic ring. It did not have the desired effect as Jammerhead pound though it. "I've got to admit, you're a bit tougher to put down, you've lasted longer than most could have hoped for against the Cyberdroid Supreme but I'm going to bust you into pieces now."

"I refuse to be put down by a lunatic cyborg," said the Shadow Phantom as she propelled another net that was ripped into shreds by a converted axe as they continued to brawl outside.

"And just when we were getting along so nicely too, you just had to call me names, that wasn't very nice of you," said Jammerhead before he cackled and his arm now was a shield, which blocked several high impact attacks, but one managed to crash Jammerhead though the wall of the bank. He just kept coming. "Perhaps I should teach you some manners, you little annoyance."

"You have room to talk," remarked the Shadow Phantom as she propelled herself over Jammerhead with a swift somersault and landed right next to him, before firing some kicks that unfortunately bounced off of his armor. Jammerhead back handed her with the axe hand and quickly he swung it, but Shadow Phantom rolled out of the way. She saw a fire hydrant nearby and then the docks, leading to sea, with a plan forming in her mind. She hoped this worked. "All those weapons and not even close to beating me and I thought you said you were the Supreme Cyberdroid. That's a farce if I ever heard one."

Jammerhead angrily swung his axe arm but stopped before he impaled the hydrant, phasing though, before he drew it back, in amusement.

"I bet you were trying to get me to attack that fire hydrant so I could rust my arm and force me to change my other one, thus dropping my money," remarked Jammerhead as he backed off onto the docks, before he turned his arm into a laser cannon. "Nice try but what kind of idiot do you think I am to fall for such a trick."

"The same kind that backs onto the laser docks to get a clear shot, above an entire ocean full of water," responded the Shadow Phantom and she threw several shuriken. Each detonated as she propelled herself up. Jammerhead tried to phase though but the dock crumbled, splashing water up and causing his circuits to get scrambled, rusting him slightly, before he dropped into the water.

The Shadow Phantom landed above and Jammerhead pulled himself from the water, taking two steps forward, before he stopped, frozen like a statue, unable to move. The metallic properties of his skin rusted him in place.

"You…you…I can't believe this, you stopped me when I get out of this, I will stomp you, I will hurt you, you can't do this to me," shouted Jammerhead as the only thing that unfortunately was not rusted in place was his ability to talk and make veiled threats. Jammerhead continued to make even more threats.

-

"I got you some more information on Zixx, but I'm afraid it isn't much, just a few records on break ins," said Rosaline that night, as she and her family had stopped by and had ushered Grace outside to talk, while the adults talked.

"I haven't had any more run ins with him, so I just wonder if he's done a job and blown town," remarked Grace.

"Maybe," responded Rosaline in a skeptical voice. "But the Techno-Mages, when you were fighting that Jammerhead guy, they stole something else, but nothing's been released to the press, other than it's a top secret piece of technology that was missing."

"Grace, Rosaline, dinner's ready you two!" called Ginny from the kitchen and the two girls looked at each other. Such matters could wait, right now, there were more important and more enjoyable matters to attend to.

-

"One component remains Techno-Mages and we will strike to gain it when it is brought into town on Christmas Eve," responded "X" in a crude voice as his followers bowed before him.

-

The cloaked figure of Zixx stopped in the shadows, looking at the transmission of his benefactor.

"The prototype, no problem, it's in town on Christmas Eve, I've got plans later that night but I should be able to fence it if I time everything wisely," said Zixx as his mysterious benefactor had disappeared. He might be illusive but he paid well and that's all Zixx asked for.


	12. Chapter 12: Two to Tangle

**Chapter Twelve: Two to Tangle**

In the Earth Protection Force facility outside of the city, two guards walked forward, entering the high security prisoner wing.

"I don't know about you, but this place, it seems a bit forbidding," said one of the guards as he looked around. "All of the super powered freaks, they're kept there, some of them are dangerous…"

"Relax, there's nothing to worry about, Agent Bishop has found ways to contain them and to weaken their powers, they're not breaking out," said the second guard with a smirk. "You don't need to worry about it at all."

"I don't know why he doesn't just find a way to kill them instead of researching them, I mean, what's the point," said the guard as he looked around. "Look at this cell; she thinks she's a super hero, with all sorts of power to back it up. I heard what they say, it was lucky she was brought down, it would take a dangerous weapon to even scratch her skin."

"With all that power, she's just a kid more or less and besides, she's been catatonic ever since she arrived here, I walk by here a dozen times a day, and there's nothing to worry about," commented the guard as he pulled out his key card, to open up the cell that contained Andrea Radcliffe, also known as Adrenaline. Sure enough, she laid against the wall, in ragged clothing, eyes blank. They were open but no one appeared to be home. "See look at her, out like a light, as she has been for almost three weeks after she was put here."

"Yeah, she looks pretty harmless, it's not like she could do anything in her condition," said the guard breathing a sigh of relief as he stepped forward, but in a flash, the prisoner's eyes snapped open in recognition, before Adrenaline casually ripped the thick chains that held her in place causing the guards to back off slightly.

"High security wing, we have a Level Red security…" stated the second guard over his communication radio but Adrenaline smashed him right in the face with the chain. The guard was knocked to the floor and the second guard was knocked down with a swift kick. His head bounced across the wall and Adrenaline rushed over, lifting his key card from his vest.

"I'll take that," said Adrenaline as she moved into the hallway at the speed of light. Several laser blasts filled though the hallway, but she somersaulted out of the way, before she swung up the pipes, knocking the commandos down to the ground. She moved quickly, opening up a room, before she found her costume. In an instant, she changed, before walking out, to face the army of commandos. "I don't know why you people are shooting at me, I'm not the villain here, it's the Shadow Phantom and I'll prove it."

Instead, the commandos continued to open fire on Adrenaline but she refused to back off, instead she darted off to the side, before she held the key card, opening up another cell, where there was a canister of a swirling black substance, almost like tar. It did show signs of life and movement, along with a few pained breaths.

"Just what I was looking forward, something to keep everyone distracted when I finish my business with the Shadow Phantom," responded Adrenaline, as she stuffed the canister into a bag along with a specialized flashlight on the shelf right next to it. She heard commandos moving outside of the hallway, but she sprang off the walls, avoiding the gas canisters. Now that she was out of her cell, she felt her powers returning to her and she moved forward, prying off the pane of a window. She threw it towards the ground, causing it to smash on the ground. The commandos moved, but she vaulted out the window. Adrenaline dropped to the ground gracefully, before dodging the laser blasts from mounted guns on the side of the building, leaping over the fence and rushing off in a near breakneck speed. By the time any of the commandos had made their way to the front door, she was gone and not only that, but she stole the stored essence of another prisoner, that was dangerous and needed to be bombarded by constant simulated sunlight to keep him from reforming and breaking out to cause havoc.

-

Snow came down from the sky in New York City. Right now, it looked perfect, absolutely wonderful but at any time in this city, there could be so much snow it could put people's lives in danger.

Two days before Christmas and Grace decided to take it easy, watching her young cousins, playing outside on the yard, building a snowman. Right now the adults were out for the day, so she and Rosaline were in charge of watching the young kids. They would only be gone for a few hours at most.

"I bet you can't hit me with that snowball, Cassie," taunted Frankie.

"You asked for it!" shouted Cassandra as she threw the snowball, knocking Frankie right in the face, causing him to spiral into the snow. Rowena stood by, looking amused. Right now, Edgar was upstairs, reading a book, not too enthralled with the possibility of being out in the snow. Quinton laughed but Cassandra threw a snowball at him as well. He dodged it.

"You can't hit me, because you're a girl," taunted Quinton and the little girl was determined, throwing a number of snowballs.

"I would aim a little higher, Cassie, you could get him next time," said Grace and Cassandra took her advice, plowing her twin brother right in the face. He was knocked to the ground and he sprang up, attempting to rush forward, but he tripped, plowing right into the snowman.

"Look what you did, you wrecked it!" shouted Cassandra in a loud voice but Rosaline looked outside from the window, motioning to Grace, as if it was urgent. Grace turned to Rowena.

"Rowena, could you keep an eye on this lot for a few minutes, make sure they don't kill each other?" asked Grace and Rowena nodded, which allowed Grace to walk inside, looking at her cousin. "Okay, Rosaline, what's up?"

"You're not going to like this but perhaps you should take a look at what they're saying on the news and it's not good, I can tell you that," responded Rosaline as she stepped back, allowing her cousin to take a look at the news.

"Repeating the hour's top story, two highly dangerous criminals have escaped from a government detention facility, Andrea Radcliffe and Jacob Knox, know respectively as Adrenaline and Wraith," said the newscaster which caused Grace's eyes to go wide in absolutely shot. "These two were incarcerated following battles with the Shadow Phantom and are considered to be extremely dangerous. Please don't approach them for any reason, instead contact the local authorities who will relay any sightings though the appropriate channels."

Rosaline and Grace exchanged looks, they knew that those two would be after Grace immediately and their highest priority would be the safety of their younger cousins.

"Everyone inside quickly!" shouted Grace as Cassandra, Quinton, and Frankie turned to them, eyes widened in surprise. "A big snow storm is coming, you should all get inside, you wouldn't want to be caught up in it."

"But we want to stay outside and play," said Quinton in a pouty voice as the other two young children obviously had similar objections but Rowena stepped, motioning for her twin siblings to follow, as Rosaline took Frankie by the hand and lead him inside to protests.

"You heard your cousin, if that storm hits, we wouldn't want any of you get hurt or sick," said Rowena who for some reason thought there was something more to this but decided that she did not want to know. Several protests slowly gave way as Grace shut the door. Rosaline managed to lock it.

"A storm is coming, I just hope I can survive it," muttered Grace to Rosaline who nodded sadly.

-

Adrenaline dropped down, slipping inside the window of her parent's mansion. They were out on a yacht or some kind of high society event, always leaving her with one of their servants. Now there were no servants, they did not even bother to even visit her. That was okay, with her powers, she did not need money or the few meager comforts that tried to offer her. With this canister tucked underneath her arm, she entered a darkened room and began to pry her open. She had in her hands someone that would have as much reason to hate both the Shadow Phantom and Grace Potter as she did. She could almost taste the opportunities for revenge, but while she was willing to have Wraith get in his shots, the final curtain and the final unmasking would be carried out by her.

"Almost got it open, let's see, yes, it's open," said Adrenaline in triumph as the black tar like substance leaked out. As it did, she saw the hints of movement, as it got lighter. "I understand if you feel a bit out of it. You were locked in a government research facility recently, your powers depleted, kept at their mercy. I was too and the reason was simple. A certain individual called the Shadow Phantom, who may think of herself to be a heroine but she is really nothing but the biggest fraud the world has ever seen. We both know it and both want revenge."

"I remember," rasped the voice of Wraith, as he began to pull back together, managing to will himself forward, as his powers returned. "She stopped me from getting what was mine, Grace Potter…"

"Well, I'll make you a deal, I'll get you Grace Potter, once you help me bring down the Shadow Phantom and expose her face to the world," said Adrenaline in a calm voice, with a smile, licking her lips as she looked at Wraith. "I've always liked you and felt that Grace treated you like dirt…Jacob…"

"Radcliffe, that's you, I see, you've changed and..." said Wraith as his eyes appeared from the shadows fixated on a certain area of her body. "You know, I'm sure you, I, and Grace would have some fun times together, you're nearly as beautiful is she is…"

"I'M TEN TIMES AS BEAUTIFUL AS THAT SLUT IS!" shouted Adrenaline in a loud voice as she looked at Wraith before she calmed down. "She thinks she's so perfect, well I'll have her on her back, begging for mercy, as I give her everything she deserves…so the question is, will you help me take my revenge on the Shadow Phantom?"

"No, I'm going to refuse, I'll take the revenge myself, it's obvious you are still fixated on being the most talked about thing, and I don't like that, you always tried to take advantage of me when I was down, I bet you thought I was some dumb jock," said Wraith.

"Because that's what you were and are Knox, no amount of powers can change that, you can travel through shadows, manipulate them, possess people, but the Shadow Phantom still defeated you, outsmarted you in face," commented Adrenaline in a superior voice. "I on the other hand, was tripped up by one of her gadgets that caused my brain to overload. It was a cheap shot, plain and simple. You need my help, because your petty little brain couldn't figure out how to defeat the Shadow Phantom on your own. You needed those football plays described in the smallest words imaginable for them to pass though your brain."

"I'm going to fight her on my own and I'll show you, I'll bring her down," said Wraith. "What could you do to me? You might have powers now, but you will always be the same stuck up little tramp that will always be second place to Grace Potter, third place now that the Shadow Phantom exists."

Adrenaline's face contorted into a scowl, before she calmly lifted up the specialized flashlight, pointing it right at Wraith.

"I believe you don't really have a choice whether or not you were cooperate with me, Knox, I took this little toy from the same government facility that they were doing experiments on you, if I had to guess, it was used to move you from one place to another when they did their little experiments on," said Adrenaline as she flicked the switch and Wraith recoiled slightly, as he was bombarded with very mild simulated sunlight waves. "I crank this thing up and I have a feeling, I could weaken you long enough to get you back into that canister and believe me when I say I wouldn't hesitate for single moment. And unlike those government suits, I will throw this canister in a volcano with your remains in it. Make no mistake about it, you were broken out so you could be the hire muscle, because I need your help in kidnapping specific people to lure the Shadow Phantom out of hiding. If I did not have any use of you, you would have rotted, until they did every experiment on you know to man and they dumped you like medical waste. So, don't you think you can get away with threatening me with your powers."

Wraith looked at Adrenaline but he was kept at bay with the flash light. It had slightly weakened his powers, obviously not as strong as the powers of one Master Magic or Adrenaline.

"I believe we have an understanding with each other then," said Adrenaline with a sweet smile and Wraith nodded a pair of red, angered eyes in the shadows as he nodded. Adrenaline just looked at him. "Good, but we should not fight among ourselves, we have a common enemy, the Shadow Phantom, and you just knock some people around, making their lives a bit more difficult and I'll do the actual thinking. I feel it plays to both of our strengths. Now, the plan is as follows, I'll try to use small words when describing it to you."

Wraith waited, if he had fists in this form, he would be clenching it, but right now he was swirling demon shadow with no corporeal form as Adrenaline began to explain a plan she thought was ingenious.

-

"I don't know how you talked us into coming here with you Harry, I'm bored out of my mind all ready," said Ron.

"Well you did say you were curious about how the American Wizarding Government worked, how the leaders compared to the Ministry, now here's your chance," said Neville with a smile.

"I'm glad I don't deal with them too much, a bunch of people trying to look good for their own benefit, a corrupt system all around," said Hailey with an irritated look on her face.

"Britain's no different, if anything it's gotten worse except for the first few years after Voldemort and then it just fell back into its old habits," said Luna sadly. "There are still Death Eater attacks over there, even though Voldemort's been dead for twenty years."

"People just won't let go of the past," said Ginny shaking her head.

"Sadly," responded Harry but he turned as Montague approached the podium, a smile on his face, that was different from the demeanor he held privately. This recent rash of publicity moves seemed to coincide with the fact that he was up for reelection soon."

"Citizens of the American Magical Community, welcome and happy holidays, we embark on a new year, where we hope to continue the perfection and purity the magical race, all mistakes being corrected when needed and the next year will be even greater," said Montague. "Over the past six years, I have been the leader of this government and I have gone though good times and bad but I thank you for your support and hope to serve another two year term as the Chief Executive Officer of the American Wizarding Government."

"Sometime's not right," muttered Harry suddenly, as he looked around for side to side, as Ginny put her hand on his.

"No kidding, that speech could not be designed to be politically contrived tripe," said Hailey.

"No, Hailey, something's really not right, don't you sense it," said Ginny and Hailey, while not as easy as Harry in dealing with these things, suddenly found out exactly what Ginny was talking about.

"I sense it now, I can see it, it's…dark magic of some sort," said Hailey. "Highly dangerous, a threat to anyone…"

"How can you tell that anyway?" asked Ron, he had never figured out how these three could tell such things.

"As Hailey told me one time, that's just like asking someone how they breath, it just happens," remarked Neville as he looked at his wife. "Are you certain…"

Suddenly the door swung open on its own accord, as suddenly a table lifted up in the air and flung right towards Montague who was in mid speech. One of the Aurors dove in the battle, taking the table right to the face. He dropped to the ground with a thud.

"Taking that a yes, I assume," commented Luna as several chairs and another table were flung, causing the Aurors to scatter as the door opened to reveal a young teenage girl, dressed in blue and white, entering the room, a cape flowing behind her, with a superior look on her face as she put her hands on her hips and her eyes rested on Luna, Ron, Neville, Hailey, Ginny, and Harry.

"It's the Radcliffe girl," muttered Hailey, as Harry and Ginny just looked at her, faces contorted and hands on wands.

"I'd figure you six would not run as easily from trouble, but you've got to realize that even you could not stop me and my newest henchmen, Wraith," responded Adrenaline with a smug expression on her face. "So I do apologize but I'm going to have to pull the rug out from underneath you."

"EVERYONE MOVE NOW!" shouted Harry as they moved off the rug, just as a pair of shadowed hands reached forward, but they were all off the rug. Harry and Ginny sent high intensity blasts of light, backing Wraith up, his body becoming more solid and less able to phase into shadows. "Keep it up…"

"Oh no you don't," said Adrenaline as she sprung forward, but Ginny was right in front of her, throwing a stunning spell at her. She dodged out of the way. Adrenaline aimed a perfect kick, striking Ginny in the nose, knocking her down. She somersaulted up and struck her in the chest, knocking her down and the wind out of her. Harry moved forward, limping over to help his wife, while Hailey, Luna, Neville, and Ron were busy fighting with Wraith.

"How do we stop something like this?" asked Ron as a plaque spiraled towards him. It took an effort from Hailey and Neville to blast it out of the way. Wraith then grabbed Hailey by the hair and pulled her to the ground roughly. He reached around; Neville felt a sudden tight grip on his neck, before he was thrown right to the ground.

"Like this," said Luna as she bombarded Wraith with a high intensity blast of orange light but Wraith struggled, before his hand back handed the face of Luna's shadow, causing her to spiral down to the ground. Unfortunately, her light attacks were not enough, when compared to the combined assault of Harry and Ginny's attack. Ron attempted to shoot a chain but Wraith caught the shadow of the incoming object and flung it back towards Ron, wrapping it around him. Ron struggled as Ginny was thrown down by Adrenaline, before a modified blast of a crudely created wrist gauntlet wrapped Ginny up in a net made out of some kind of sticky substance. She struggled but was unable to point her wand to cut herself free.

"Not as potent as the Shadow Phantom's attacks, but works in a pinch," responded Adrenaline as Harry moved but she dodged the attack. "Bit slow, aren't we old man? Come on, I heard you were something back in the day, but now age has made you nothing. Then again, raising a pathetic daughter like yours would obviously mean you were washed up."

Harry sent a stunning spell which she avoided, before she reached out, took Harry's walking stick and smashed him right in the chronically injured knee with it. Years ago, Harry would not have been struck down with such an attack but now age and injury. Harry was then whacked again and another net wrapped him up.

"Wraith, grab them, drag them out, meet me at my mansion, I'll take care of the rest," ordered Adrenaline, as she held the flashlight. Harry tried to break free, if he could get that flashlight, he might have a chance of negating Wraith at the very least. Wraith did so as Adrenaline reared back her hand, smashing one of the pillars. She rushed forward, smashing all of the others at the speed of light.

"DISAPPARATE OUT NOW, BACK TO THE HOUSE QUICKLY!" shouted Hailey taking charge, as most of the Aurors and other people had already evacuated when chairs and tables were flying. Just seconds before they were crushed, Neville, Ron, Luna, and Hailey all managed to escape, with their lives just barely intact.

-

"They were captured, but how…" stated Rosaline in a horrified voice.

"Harry and Ginny were taken, Wraith and Adrenaline escaped and they managed to overwhelm us long enough, Adrenaline is more powerful than anyone could have imagined and Wraith on the other hand, he is dangerous in his own right," said Hailey as she looked at Grace.

"My parents were abducted by them," muttered Grace, she could not help but feel it was all her fault, Adrenaline knew who she was and now Grace knew what she must do. "I'm sorry, but I'm not feeling well…"

"Understandable, you should go upstairs, I'll escort you up there, just in case you collapse, make sure you get into bed okay," responded Hailey suddenly as she lead her niece up the stairs. When they were out of an earshot, Hailey bent down. "Okay Grace, I know that look on your face. You're going to try and rescue them in any way you can."

"I have to," said Grace. "Those two…it's all my fault…Andrea knows that I'm the Shadow Phantom and she's obviously has enticed Knox with promises of revenge or blackmailed him…I've got to go after them, they're after me, I just know it."

"Harry would have said the same thing, Ginny as well, but you do realize this is a trap, don't you?" asked Hailey with a sigh and Grace nodded. "Adrenaline ordered Knox to take them to her mansion just before they leveled the place, trying to kill us all."

"That was deliberate, she wants me to come there but I'll be ready for anything or rather the Shadow Phantom will be ready for anything," responded Grace. "Aunt Hailey…I know you don't like it…"

"I'm in no position to critique what you're doing after what I was up to when I was your age I'm just going to offer you some advice to be careful, those two are dangerous, even the six of us could not put them down," said Hailey and Grace nodded, they did have some powers and it was only because of luck she won last time but maybe she could get lucky again.

-

"Now, keep an eye out for the Shadow Phantom, she should be coming soon," said Adrenaline to Wraith and Wraith grumbled but he obeyed.

"A young girl with a future throwing away her life, how sad but I've seen it many times before," remarked Harry, as he was entangled, hanging above several spikes that had protruded from the floor.

"Spare me the lecture, old man," answered Adrenaline in a bored voice. "The sooner the Shadow Phantom is out of the way, the sooner my life will be much better."

"What could that accomplish?" asked Ginny.

"It would eliminate the only person who continues to get in my way, who decides to upstage me for her own arrogant benefit, she tried to ruin me, she allowed the government to lock me up, so they could tinker with my mind, trying to mess it up and don't try to tell me the government would never do something like to that to me," said Adrenaline.

"Wasn't going to," grumbled Harry bitterly.

"Good, because it would be a lie and today, I'm going to defeat the Shadow Phantom, unmask her, exposing her filthy face to the world, and then and only then will I be able to move on, to be the true heroine, because then they can't throw me away, lock me up, they need me and they will have what they need," responded Adrenaline in a slightly crazed voice, before she looked forward. Company would be arriving and she could not wait to see the look on the Potters' face when they realized their daughter was a vigilante. Then once she was done with Knox, she would use her little trump card to destroy him, so no one would be able to upstage her ever again.

"You would think that, but you're just only deluding yourself," responded Harry in a knowing voice. "Trust me, if you think you're a hero, you've obviously got some issues. True heroes think of themselves as anything but…"

"Mind your tongue or I will drop both you and your wife onto those spikes, the only thing that is holding you up there is my good decency, I spray that adhesive with this second gauntlet and its toast for you," said Adrenaline as she stepped to the side, before turning. "I bet you assumed I was just going to leave you, without keeping an eye on you. That would be something foolish that a petty criminal would do. I'm a bit smarter than that."

Harry just sat there, he still had his wand but it was very difficult to maneuver in this tight cocoon that Adrenaline placed him and Ginny in. Still, he formulated a plan to get both himself and his wife safely out of here. He stared down at them, trying not to look too conspicuous as he tried to escape.

-

The Shadow Phantom arrived at the Radcliffe estate. The fact that was no security to speak of had put her on high alert. She dodged underneath the fence, moving forward, before springing up. She paused, as a moving shadow appeared. The shadow went towards hers but she was ready for it, activating a blast of concentrated light. It blasted the shadow causing Wraith to appear.

"You, I've been looking forward to this rematch for some time, take some of this," responded Wraith as the shadow aimed a punch but The Shadow Phantom did a back flip, before she maneuvered, her shadow lined up, so a kick could be aimed at her enemy. It just barely hit clumsily, as a piece of pipe on the ground was picked up and swung. She managed to tuck her head and roll out of the way, causing to land on the air. More blasts of concentrated light sent towards him.

"Nine and a half hours to sunrise, I doubt you could keep it up for that much time," remarked Wraith in a taunting voice as his punches had backed her off towards the opened door of the mansion. "Come on, surely you must have a better counter in that tin contraption you call a suit."

"No but you're going to have to catch me first," responded the Shadow Phantom in a slightly taunting tone of voice as Wraith followed her inside, hoisting up a table and attempting to smash it down onto her, but she spiraled out of the way. It was obvious now more than ever that she was being lured, but it was just because of her ability to she could stay a step ahead. She back flipped out of the way of an expensive looking vase narrowly avoiding her head. She saw an opened room, with light coming out of it over her shoulder and avoided another couple of attacks by Wraith, dodging the assaults of the demon shadow, but she was grabbed by the ankle and flung down to the ground, before thrown into the room where Adrenaline was standing.

"I can't say it's nice of you to drop by," responded Adrenaline calmly, before she blasted the Shadow Phantom with the gauntlet, the sticky adhesive flying towards her but a blade cut through it. The Shadow Phantom leapt up but Adrenaline met her, throwing punches at each other, before the Shadow Phantom managed to grab her adversary. The would be heroine dropped the Shadow Phantom to the ground, before she launched herself up into the air. The Shadow Phantom held her feet and kicked off, sending Adrenaline crashing down hard. A punch was blocked but the Shadow Phantom managed to shoot a metal ring that snapped around Adrenaline. It held her in place for long for the Shadow Phantom to move around. Adrenaline snapped it off and began to look extremely frustrated. "Wraith, hold her in place!"

Wraith quickly sprung out of the shadows, almost forgot, wrapping his arms around the shadow of their enemy. The Shadow Phantom struggled as Adrenaline sprung up, taking several free shots. She could not get Wraith off of her.

"The flashlight!" shouted Ginny.

"Yes, grab it, it negates his powers," added Harry, but Wraith continued to hold her in place but Adrenaline turned to the two Potters.

"Both of you, stay out of this, now!" shouted Adrenaline as she shot the second gauntlet, which melted the adhesive. Fortunately, Harry ripped through his before flicking his wand downwards, transfiguring the spikes to an air mattress, maneuvering his descent so he could catch Ginny in mid air. Wraith was momentarily caught off guard which allowed the Shadow Phantom to spiral into the air, catching Adrenaline with a kick. Another kick was blocked and she was thrown to the side by the leg. "Let's face it, you can't beat me, now I'm going to rip off your mask to the world."

The Shadow Phantom struggled, once again held in place by Wraith. Wraith continued to hold her as Adrenaline struck her with an uppercut. A blast of light was aimed towards Adrenaline by Harry who dodged it.

"I'll deal with you too," responded Adrenaline as she charged Harry. Ginny stepped in but Harry, despite the fact his leg was killing him, shook his head. Adrenaline smashed right into Harry, blackening his eye with an uppercut. "Did you really think you would accomplish anything?"

"I didn't think so, but I did," responded Harry as he held up the modified flashlight before cranking it to full power and aiming it towards Wraith. Wraith screamed in agony, as his form began to wilt. "Over there, on the table, the canister that he was held in, I bet she planned on using it after she got done using Wraith."

"Accio, canister," said Ginny, as she caught the canister, before Harry siphoned the tarred remains of Jacob Knox, known as Wraith, into the canister and sealed it shut. Adrenaline just stood there, arms folded, unimpressed.

"So you beat the hired muscle, he was just to help me get you here, all of you," said Adrenaline as she leapt forward. Ginny dodged the first assault, but the second assault knocked her to the ground. Harry swung his walking stick, revealing that there was a blade concealed in it, jabbing it towards Adrenaline but she dodged the attack, before pulling the stick out of Harry's hand and then kicking him to the ground. Adrenaline held the walking stick, with the blade and prepared to stab it into Harry but the Shadow Phantom pulled a sword off of the wall. It was a bit heavy, but she clanged it against the blade, blocking Adrenaline's assault.

"Ah, how sweet, you step in to defend your dear old crippled Daddy," whispered Adrenaline so only Grace could hear her, before they continued to fight, the swords clanging together, with a series of strikes being delivered when necessary. While Grace was more adept with a sword, Andrea appeared to have higher levels of endurance. "Give it up, your little suit can't match my powers, my strength, or any of my abilities."

The Shadow Phantom just barely managed to hold her own, dodging the sword swipes before she bent her knees, leaping up and aiming the sword. The sword sliced Adrenaline's arm, drawing blood but the wound quickly healed itself, before Adrenaline jabbed the sword. The precision broke it and another jab had caused a small dent in the armor.

"I won't let you win, I defeated you once before, I can do it again," said the Shadow Phantom.

"A fluke is how you defeated me, but it looks like this blade even cuts your armor," responded Adrenaline, but suddenly two sets of thick cables wrapped around her, each from Harry and Ginny's wand. Together they had defeated many threats and the Shadow Phantom sprung up, before she clasped her hands over the ears of Adrenaline, activating the sonic vibrations.

"NO!" shouted Adrenaline, as these ropes she was tied in was thick and the sounds were painful, even for someone with her healing abilities. She attempted to break free but when she did, the sonic vibrations had already stimulated her brain. Just like when the gauntlets exploded, high frequency sound waves being fed into her ears had caused her brain to be over stimulated, the abundance of thoughts were just too much. She was sent backwards into the wall, her gauntlet ripping off. The Shadow Phantom picked it up and activated. The sticky adhesive formed a net around her, holding her in place.

"That should hold her," said the Shadow Phantom as she collapsed for a second before she got up.

"We'll call the authorities, you've done more than enough," said Harry as Ginny nodded in agreement. "Besides I have to make sure these individuals stay under wraps."

The Shadow Phantom did not argue with that, in fact every bone in her body felt rattled and her muscles were sore. The fact remained that if her parents had not held Adrenaline in place long enough, this time it was highly likely the Shadow Phantom would have been unmasked and revealed to be Grace Potter.

-

The next day Grace was at the library returning a book that she had out for a school project. Since it was actually due on Christmas and the library was closed then, she figured she should get it back.

"Grace, fancy meeting you here," remarked Steven.

"I could say the same thing about you as well, we haven't really talked since you couldn't make it at the last minute, you know, we're having another thing for Christmas, it would mean a lot to me if you would stop by and meet my parents," said Grace.

"What time is it?" asked Steven.

"About eight o' clock," answered Grace and suddenly there was a bit of a conflicted look on Steven's face. It was brief but Grace managed to catch it. "That's not going to be a problem, is it?"

"No, it's not, I'll look forward to seeing you then and meeting your parents," responded Steven.

"Good, it really means a lot to me and I'll see you there," said Grace as she leaned forward to kiss him on the cheek, before walking into the library, to return her book before it closed up, as the snow slowed down but still came down lightly, covering the streets of New York.


	13. Chapter 13: Zixx

**Chapter Thirteen: Zixx**

The snow came down and it appeared to be getting heavier on Christmas Eve. Grace thought it was not a good idea for her to be out as the snowstorm continued to brew, but she needed to get out of the house, for a couple of hours. Besides, she needed to stop by Steven's to make sure he was still coming, that something would not come up that prevented him from skipping out of yet another attempt to meet her parents. She did not understand, it was almost like he was finding ways to avoid. There was nothing to be afraid about. Okay, her father was a world class master of ninjitsu and a very powerful wizard as well, who defeated Lord Voldemort and her mother was nearly as good, dangerous in her own right, but really there was nothing to be afraid of. Those thoughts echoed through her mind as she carefully adjusted her footing, to avoid slipping as a government truck moved, the only thing that was on the road. There were several commandos in the distance; Grace kept a sharp eye out. Something this well guarded would have to be important and thus something that a lot of people might be after. The truck pulled across from a rather unremarkable building, at least from the outside. Grace was not fooled for one instant that it was made to look that way, so people would not expect something top secret to be stored there.

"Everyone step back," said one of the commandos in a slightly hushed voice but Grace managed to be able to pick up what he was saying. "The Hyperdrive prototype is very powerful but there are some concerns about how unstable it might be. We've brought it into town so Stockman can take a look at it but when we get it working, it would benefit us all."

"Yes, powering several computers, let's get it inside, who knows what will happen if we linger too long," said one of the commandos.

"Its Christmas Eve and besides who will be out in this weather, besides us," commented one of the commandos but they still hauled the box inside. Grace closed her eyes, something told her this would be something to attract all sorts of people and decided to keep a close eye. She had about an hour to kill anyway, as the wind blew in her face, the scarf around her head shielding her from the cold.

Suddenly she paused as a very familiar figure, covered in a purple cloak had slipped from behind the snow covered bushes, creeping around the gates. It was obvious he had snuck in when the truck had been moved in. There was no mistaken his demeanor, it was Zixx. Ever since there first encounter where he had managed to slip away, Grace had been wanting a bit of a rematch and now she got the opportunity.

Before she could drop down, Grace heard several footsteps on the roof and turned slightly, as more shadowed figures leapt forward, with wands in their hand, as they crept towards the factory. There was no mistaken who they were either, Techno-Mages. The Hyperdrive appeared to attract all sorts of people and Grace slipped inside the window of the building she was standing in quickly. Thankfully it was unoccupied as she made a quick change. The Shadow Phantom would take a close look to see what was going on here.

-

Zixx stepped inside the government facility where two commandos stood off to the side, weapons in hand. Quickly he removed the pin from a gas canister and heaved it at the ground, shielding his face, Zixx saw them stagger around, gagging before he leapt up. Two kicks later and the two commandos dropped to the ground, staggered and beaten, as Zixx stepped forward, before he turned to the control panel. He quickly removed a laser pin from his glove and opened it, before he placed a small metal orb inside one of the control panel outlets. The entire system was fried.

"And now security is down, that Hyperdrive should be now here somewhere," said Zixx as he stepped forward, pushing open a metal door, before he spotted the box on a metal pedestal. A smile appeared on the thief's face. "Bingo, I believe that would be it but…I sense these people don't want to give it up that easily."

A spray can had revealed that there was a grid of lasers that would cut through human flesh and there was a cord, towards its own separate battery operated power source. A dagger was carefully aimed, ripping the cord from the wall, causing the lasers to go off line. The only thing that illuminated the room was the glint of the street lamps from the outside and Zixx moved forward, before reaching forward, pulling the box. "Ah, the Hypedrive, small but powerful, my boss should pay some big cash for this, they're be very pleased indeed. Now to get out of there…"

"Mr. Zixx, I believe you will not be leaving today," said the Techno-Mage known as Khan as he walked forward, an imposing look on his face, as a dozen more Techno-Mages stood in front of Zixx pointing his wand.

"You guys again, really this is just a bit tiring, how we keep meeting up every time my boss wants to get his hands on some new technology, your boss does too," said Zixx but Khan looked humorless, whipping his wand forwards. A chain blasted forward, a sickle in the end. Zixx leapt up in the air, dodging the attack as the sickle ripped harmlessly off the wall. "Really was it something I said?"

"Seize him," grunted Khan and the Techno-Mages moved forward, pointing their wands, blasting them at Zixx, who ducked and dodged all of the assaults before he sprang up, holding onto the lights and swinging off of them, before doing a flip. An orb like object was removed from his glove before he slammed it onto the ground. Several medium powered shock waves caught the Techno-Mages off guard, as Zixx made his way to the nearest exit, but a pair of feet swung forward, striking him right into the face. He rolled over, managing to land on his feet without losing the hood that concealed his face, before he looked up, to see the Shadow Phantom right there.

"Ah, come back for more, you wouldn't be the first girl who couldn't have enough of me," said Zixx but the Shadow Phantom aimed a kick, which he avoided. Another punch but Zixx did a back flip before he landed on his feet and threw another orb like device but it was deflected backwards, landing on the ground with a loud explosion. The Techno-Mages could not even recover. "I've got to hand it to you, you fight well, better than those guys but I'm just too good for even a primo babe like you to take me down."

"If you keep running your mouth, I'll give you a fat lip," responded the Shadow Phantom as she attempted to strike Zixx but Zixx moved, before he swung up, kicking her. She staggered back but Zixx somersaulted in the air, before she grabbed him by the ankles, flinging him to the ground. The Shadow Phantom raised her hand but Zixx blocked it before he kicked off and dove around, as the Techno-Mages got up.

"Once again, it was fun but there is things I need to do tonight," said Zixx as he consulted his watch, dodging another attack from the Shadow Phantom but they were fully aware that the Techno-Mages were up. The Shadow Phantom back flipped over them before landing swiftly behind them and kicking them right in the back, knocking them to the ground. Zixx removed another orb from his suit and threw it to the ground, backing the Techno-Mages off. "I'll just let you lot to sort it out, I have the Hyper Drive I need so see you around soon sometime."

Zixx threw a grenade on the ground, but Grace was ready this time, flicking a tracking device. It perfectly stuck to his cape, as he disappeared into the smoke, as several simulated spells blasted forward. Now Zixx could be tracked anywhere.

"After him!" shouted Khan but the Shadow Phantom leapt up, kicking Khan. Khan backed off, before he raised his bulbous fist and slammed it down right across the top of her head, knocking her to the ground. Despite the armor, Grace felt rather rattled. The Techno-Mages cast a glance down on her but she was not the object of today's mission, claiming the Hyper Drive was and they would do so at any cost.

The Shadow Phantom staggered to her feet as the Techno-Mages disappeared. She moved out the door. Now that Zixx had the Hyper Drive and the commandos mentioned it was potentially unstable. Having a weapon with that amount of danger could be a disaster waiting to happen and she had no idea who had hired the thief.

"He's heading west," muttered the Shadow Phantom to herself, activating the tracking beacon on her armor, before she slipped out the door to follow Zixx. If he remained inside the city limits, he would be found almost immediately.

-

"Agent Bishop, the Hyperdrive has been stolen, our security cameras have picked up that both Zixx and the Techno Mages were after it, and then the Shadow Phantom tried to stop them, but somehow Zixx managed to escape the facility with it before we could identify him," responded the commando.

"That double dealing thief, it's the third piece of highly dangerous technology he stole, I want him unmasked and brought in for custody, along with the technology he possesses, as long as its out without the potential flaws being eliminated, it presents a danger for the city," said Bishop as he looked at the commandos. "Lethal force is authorized, both with Zixx and whoever his employers are. I want it back at all costs, no matter what it takes. Is that clear?"

"Absolutely Agent Bishop," stated the lead commando as Stockman in his robotic shell entered.

"Who is this Zixx character anyway?" asked Stockman curiously.

"A new threat on the intergalactic scene in the past few years that has made a name for himself, a mercenary and a world class thief, trafficker of stolen technology as well," explained Bishop. "He is highly crafty and his services come at a rather high price. Also, he has been known to betray his employers if an even bigger price comes up and has loyalty to no one but his own bank account. He has his share of enemies and now I shudder to think what trouble he would bring to this planet. Rest assure that he must be brought to justice and anyone who is in the league with him may be highly dangerous. While he is no killer, he does not discriminate with who he takes jobs for."

"The Hyper Drive though, if he plugs it in, there is a high chance it will overload and wipe out the entire city with it," said Stockman.

"Indeed, that may happen, we needed to perfect it for that reason, the design flaws are rather fatal and we could monitor all alien activity around the planet once we get it working, if we ever get it working, right now it is imperative that we find Zixx before he passes the technology off to his benefactor," said Bishop as Stockman's holographic head image nodded, a serious expression on his face.

-

The Shadow Phantom dropped down, the wind whipping in her face. Wherever Zixx was going, he was heading right near Steven's house, which would pan out nicely. The weather continued to kick up, a huge storm. She hoped her parents were not too worried, there were times where she hated doing this but it was necessary as she pushed though the mounds of stone and ice, using the propulsion system to fight up as she saw Zixx turn the corner quickly, to the same apartment building that Steven was in. This was perfect, she could bust the villain and meet up with her date for the Potter Christmas party, make sure he finds his way there okay.

She carefully climbed over the gate, nearly slipping but managed to regain her footing as she approached the building. Sneaking in, she looked over her shoulder. So far, the Techno-Mages had not followed them, which was a good start. Sliding slightly on the ice, the Shadow Phantom moved forward, hearing movement and a pained groan right outside one of the windows.

­

-

Zixx moved forward, wincing, as he dropped down, the Hyper Drive placed on the desk. He suffered an injured shoulder when one of those goons blasted him in the shoulder, but at least he had the merchandise. As he pulled off his cloak and the hood came down, the face of Steven Torbin was revealed as he consulted his watch.

"Still enough time to get this to my latest client and not miss Grace's party, she'll be so happy, it's too bad she'll never know that I managed to time a mission right for her, because of how I feel about her," said Steven as he looked over the Hyper Drive before he smiled. "That girl, she's naïve, she'll never know the truth about me and it has to remain that way."

-

The Shadow Phantom looked outside the window and her eyes bulged. She breathed in and out hardly able to believe her eyes. Steven Torbin and Zixx were one and the same. It was something she could hardly believe, her good friend, who was rapidly becoming more than a friend, had turned out to be a notorious intergalactic scumbag and thief, a trafficker of stolen goods. The fact remained that she could hardly believe it had she not been seeing it with her own eyes. Grace looked in the window, mouth a gap as Steven looked slightly injured, as he placed the Hyper Drive on the table. She felt a bit of sympathy for him, because she might have caused that injury. After all, he was not a murderous sociopath unlike some people; just he got hired to steal for them.

All sympathy faded when she managed to hear Steven talk about how naïve she was. She looked at the window, he seemed amused by this fact and she felt betrayed. It was not like he was using her but still hearing those words from someone that she cared about in that tone of voice had felt like she had her heart yanked out with a rusty pair of pliers and stomped on. She briefly contemplated going in there but she did not feel up to it and just turned, heading straight home, without another word.

Just as the Shadow Phantom left, several Techno-Mages dropped down. Khan nodded, before they moved inside, one of them pointing towards the door, blasting it open. The Techno-Mages snuck inside, their Master wanted to get his hands on that Hyper Drive and they could not fail him at any cost.

-

Grace stumbled into the Potter House, looking rather dazed and flushed. Ginny immediately rushed over to her daughter, putting her hand on her forehead.

"Grace, are you okay?" asked Ginny. "You look really pale, you shouldn't have really been out in that cold tonight…"

"I'm…you're right," said Grace as she was about to say she was fine but she realized what a lie it was as she staggered, looking at her father, who had a frown on his face.

"Your boyfriend is coming by, should we tell him you're not feeling well?" asked Harry.

"He's not my boyfriend, Dad," said Grace in a bit of a snippy, defensive tone of voice. "But if Mr. Torbin shows up, tell him that I'm not feeling good and I don't want to see him."

Grace walked up the stairs in a huff, getting several astonished looks.

"Something happened with them, I better go and pay Mr. Torbin a visit personally…" said Harry but Ginny placed her hand on her husbands.

"If he stops by, you can deal with him, but we have guests to attend to," said Ginny and Harry nodded his head, briefly kissing Ginny. "You better let Grace cool down, it's obvious she's upset for some reason, she does have a temper."

"Like both of her parents," muttered Hermione but she was smiling. She was glad she was able to get off of work early to come here.

-

"Okay, now that's patched up, its show time," said Steven as he pulled his hood back up and walked forward to make the delivery but suddenly, the door was blasted open, revealing a group of Techno Mages. Khan walked forward, cracking his knuckles, large, imposing man looked to be dangerous enough without a simulated wand.

"The great thief Zixx, a mere boy, just pathetic, waste him," said Khan as the Techno-Mages blasted him with the spells but Steven jumped out of the way, dodging the attacks. A table blew up. "Careful you fools, do not hit the Hyperdrive."

"You should have really called before coming, I wasn't really dressed for the occasion," remarked Zixx as he leapt up, kicking one of the Techno-Mages in the hand, relieving him of his wand, before grabbing him around the hand and flipping him into the other. Zixx pulled a metallic ball out of the pocket of his cloak. "The landlord's really going to love me tomorrow."

It was launched right at the Techno Mages, causing a miniature explosion that backed them off. They continued to fight with Zixx throwing another couple of grenades at tem before he made his way to the Hyper Drive but he was jabbed in the back by a force. He dropped to the ground as Khan moved forward, a predatory look on his face.

Before he could move in, the wall blasted open, causing dust and debris to fly everyone as a group of heavily armed commandos walked inside, weapons drawn.

"The Hyper Drive belongs to neither of you, you will be arrested for attempting to steal a top secret government prototype, hands where we can see them or we will open fire," remarked the lead commando as they pointed their laser blasters but Khan just stood, arms folded, before he motioned for the Techno-Mages to put their wands. Several spirals of red energy shot from them, striking the commandos knocking them off guard.

In an instant, Zixx jumped into the air with ease, rushing over, before he slid outside the open door, as the fight between Bishop's commandos and the Techno Mages raged up. He tucked the Hyper Drive under his arm, he had an appointment to keep and a Christmas party to attend. He dodged outside but Khan just growled, knocking over a pair of commandos, before he pointed his wand at a snow drift. Blue light shot out, solidifying it and causing Zixx to run head first into it, knocking him down onto his back. Zixx was knocked loopy and Khan dropped down, as the other Techno-Mages kept the commandos busy. A couple of punches knocked Zixx down and he was thrown down onto the ice viciously. He draped the fallen form of Zixx over his shoulder before he walked forward, moving as fast as he could manage, with the Hyper Drive tucked underneath his arm.

The commandos looked outwards, as one of them had the unfortunate task of informing Agent Bishop that Zixx had been kidnapped and the Hyperdrive had been stolen. One of them activated his wristband communicator, before he looked at it.

"Agent Bishop, sir, the Techno Mages managed to divert our attention, there leader knocked out Zixx, your next orders?" asked the commando.

"Attempt to trail them, I have a line of inquiry that I must follow but if you could track Khan, then do so immediately," answered Bishop in a calm voice as the commando nodded, before he motioned for the others to follow him, as the other Techno Mages had slipped out when Khan had given them the signal.

"Alright everyone move out, Bishop's orders, let us see if we can track the Techno Mages before they put the Hyper Drive to some terrible use, we aren't going to let them get away with this that easily," ordered the commando.

-

Grace laid on her bed, not moving, ignoring the sounds of joy and merriment downstairs, she felt miserable. If she had not been the Shadow Phantom she would never had found this out and she could have went on living her life ignorantly, but now it was just too much for her to bare. She could not believe it, Steven seemed like the last person to be an intergalactic mercenary.

A couple of footsteps were heard and she spun around, seeing the unsmiling form of Agent Bishop sitting on the window sill.

"Oh, it's you," responded Grace in an irritated voice. "I don't know if it's a good idea for you to be anywhere near here, after the incident with Wraith and Adrenaline, Dad's in a pretty sore mood with you after that…."

"I'll risk it, there are things that must be done, Zixx has stolen…well you were there and now he was attacked by Techno Mages," responded Bishop and Grace jumped up, in surprise.

"WHAT? Attacked…is he…" stated Grace before she shook her head. "You knew, didn't you?"

"I suspected and now tonight I know for certain, that Steven Torbin and Zixx are one and the same," commented Bishop lightly. "I don't know what teen angst you're going through and frankly I don't care. I just know that I need your help to track him and recover the Hyper Drive."

"And why do you need my help for this?" asked Grace as she looked at Bishop, who just calmly adjusted his sunglasses to return her look.

"Because if you're anything like your father you might have some way that you tracked him to his apartment and that tracking device still might be active," commented Bishop and Grace just nodded, before she rushed over to take her locket containing the Shadow Phantom armor off of her dresser.

"Leave, I'll handle this, I'll get your stupid little drive back, and deal with the Techno Mages as well," responded Grace but Bishop just responded by staring back at her, unfazed with his usual calculating expression on his face that made one think he was up to something.

"I will be standing by, because Mr. Torbin, Zixx, whatever you wish to call him, has crimes he needs to answer for and I doubt you would wish to do anything impulsive based on feelings that might still linger despite your betrayal," commented Bishop wisely but Grace just stood there, looking out the window briefly, giving Bishop's words deep thought for a couple of minutes before she decided to respond.

"You do what you have to do Bishop and I'll do what I have to do," commented Grace as she prepared to get dress.

"Very well then, I will leave you to get ready," said Bishop as Grace made a change outfit into the Shadow Phantom, conflicted emotions running though her mind that made her worry that she would not be able to do this properly but she tried to treat Steven just like she would any other thief she would have to go after, trying to think of him as Zixx instead as the homing beacon echoed, revealing that she was still inside the city.

-

"I believe that is all the weapons and this…it's a tracking device," said one of the Techno Mages as he held up the small metal bug, showing it to Khan, as the Hyper Drive laid on the table, with a calm expression as he regarded it.

"The Shadow Phantom," said Khan as he turned to the video feed, with the monitor revealing his master. "What should we do with it? Destroy it?"

"Leave it, once we eliminate Zixx we will eliminate her as well, I believe we can use it as bait to kill two birds with one stone, but I shall deliver the crushing blow and rip off that helmet," ordered "X". "Rough her up as much as you desire."

"As you wish, Master," responded Khan with a bow.

-

The Shadow Phantom dropped down, an abandoned warehouse was her final destination and Zixx, along with the Hyper Drive and who knows how many Techno Mages were on the other side. It was highly likely they would have discovered the bug and had been waiting for her. So far, so good, but she activated the cloaking control on her armor and slipped inside the front entrance of the warehouse, where she saw Zixx tied up, bound and gagged. Walking over, she turned off the cloaking control.

"It's a trap," said Zixx suddenly but the Shadow Phantom quickly did a forward roll out of the way, dodging the attacks of several blasts from the wands as the Techno Mages moved out. The Shadow Phantom leapt up, hanging from the chains, before she dropped down, somersaulting, catching her enemies in the face. Several cables shot towards her but she sliced her way through them but Khan rushed forward, plowing towards her with a punch, knocking her to the ground.

"Just try that again when I don't have my back turned," said the Shadow Phantom and Khan delivered another punch, before he held his wand, that looked like a miniature staff up close and a blade appeared. It clanged across the armor of the Shadow Phantom but she dodged the attack. Another attack and the Shadow Phantom disarmed him, knocking the blade out of the top of the wand with a blast. With little effort or pause, Khan withdrew another blade and continued the fight, with the Shadow Phantom ducking his assaults, as several Techno Mages closed in for the kill but she back flipped over them. They winced as they were stabbed with the razor sharp blade, dropping to the ground, injured, blood dripping from it but Khan continued to move forward.

Zixx meanwhile squirmed, but the busted blade landing right beside his side had given him the out. He took the blade up with his foot, managing to somehow maneuver it onto the chair with grave effort, until he held it in his hand, beginning to hack at the ropes, trying to cut himself free as the Shadow Phantom and Khan continued their brawl, with Khan grabbing her around the throat and tossing her right into a stack of crates, causing them to smash open as she connected.

"The Master will have to unmask you in pieces when I'm done with you," responded Khan with a grunt as fired the blade from his wand but the Shadow Phantom tucked her head, before she rolled to the side, the blade breaking open the crate. She dodged the attack and spotted a baseball bat that had been knocked out of the crate. In an instant, she picked up the baseball bat and as hard as she could muster, she swung it. It connected right with the side of Khan's head, opening up a huge gash. The large Techno Mage attempted to step forward, but collapsed, as blood oozed from the side of his head.

"After her, you fools," stated another Techno Mage and sure enough, the Techno Mage's reassumed their assault on the Shadow Phantom, and several blasts struck her suit, backing her off, causing mild damage to some of the circuitry in the suit as Zixx managed to cut the ropes free. He moved over, knocking down the Techno Mages that were guarding the Hyper Drive, and looked at the Shadow Phantom, before he picked up one of his sonic grenades.

"Shadow Phantom, duck!" shouted Zixx as he heaved the grenade, before it landed on the ground. The vibrations staggered a group of the Techno Mages.

"Why did you stick your neck out for me, when you could have had it?" asked the Shadow Phantom in a surprised voice.

"I can still have it and stick my neck out to help people," commented Zixx and he sprung up, knocking her to the ground with an expertly done uppercut punch. The Shadow Phantom was injured and Zixx rushed forward, picking up the Hyper Drive and rushed towards the door, preparing to throw one of his grenades to the ground to smoke screen his exit."

"Oh no, you don't," responded the Shadow Phantom as a shuriken knocked the grenade from his hand and caused it to explode into a cloud of smoke. A net shot out, wrapping around Zixx, causing him to be trapped as he landed on the ground, the Hyper Drive out of reach, but Khan staggered to his feet, before blasting the Shadow Phantom right in the back of the legs, dropping her to the ground and picking up the Hyper Drive, before pointing his wand but several people approaching was heard outside.

"Another time, heroine," commented Khan gruffly as he motioned for the Techno Mages to disconnect the communication equipment, clearly everything out. They did quickly but in their haste, a CD Rom dropped from their pocket. Despite the fact she was injured, the Shadow Phantom reached forward, and picked up the CD Rom, managing to slip it inside, as Zixx moved forward before he met the business end of several Triceraton Blasters from the Earth Protection Force commandos.

"Alright Zixx, end of the line, to answer for your crimes against this country, you're going to be put away for a long time," said Bishop, almost if daring the Shadow Phantom to interject but she refused to say anything.

"Wait, I need someone to do something for me and you're the only person I trust," said Zixx as he reached out of his cloak, before he pulled an envelope from it. "If you see Grace Potter, even if the chances are slim, please give her this from me, it should explain everything, I just hope she could forgive me."

"Only time will tell," said the Shadow Phantom in an icy voice, careful not to betray her identity, but she took the envelope as Bishop had Zixx lead away, with the commandos careful not to take their eyes off of him as he was escorted as the Shadow Phantom just stood there before she turned her back, without even a backwards glance to return home. After the holidays, she would sort this entire mess out and figure out what was on that CD Rom that she took.

-

"I have the Hyper Drive, my Lord," said Khan as he bowed before his master.

"You have done well Khan and while I had wished you would have destroyed the Shadow Phantom, that will come soon and by my hands, as I will soon come out of the shadows and destroy her personally," responded "X" coldly. "The Hyper Drive will be installed to a master computer once it has been repaired, eliminating its fatal imperfections and an army of Cyberdroid Supremes will be under my control. Along with my Elite Techno Mages, we will be reborn after all of these years. Harry Potter wished to destroy us, those accursed Ninja Turtles sought to eliminate us, but we are not so easily eliminated. Ensure that all the preparations are ready and the city will be under my control for the new year."

"As you command, my Lord," said Khan bowing as he walked off.

-

The shadowed figure who was Zixx's employee looked rather disappointed that his charge had failed.

"A pity, the Hyper Drive was supposed to be a key component to my plans for this world and my plans of revenge, but I will not be denied, I will have it one way or another," responded the figure as he nodded, a smile appearing on his face.

-

The day after Christmas, Grace and Rosaline were at one of the factories, to access the CD Rom. Grace reached into her pocket.

"Maybe we'll have some idea what the Techno Mages are up to," said Grace as she pulled out the CD and the crumpled up envelope that Zixx gave her.

"What's that?" asked Rosaline as she managed to make out it was from Steven and regretted asking it immediately, at the dark look that appeared on her cousin's face. She had pieced together enough of what happened to realize it was a touchy subject.

"It's nothing," said Grace as she dropped the note in the trash can, without a second thought as she handed it to Rosaline before fixing her face into what she hoped was a calm look. "Let's see what's on here."

A moment's pause before they saw something very chilling. The symbol had been something that had seen before in their lives, but only in a reference to the past, not anything that was relevant to the future.

"No, it can't be but it is," said Grace with widened eyes as a crimson red three toed foot looked at her. It was the symbol of one of the most notorious criminal organizations in history.

It was the symbol of the Foot.


	14. Chapter 14: Project X Part One

**Chapter Fourteen: Project X Part One**

"It can't be but…The Foot, how, Dad said they were gone along time ago, they defeated the Utrom Shredder, they defeated the Demon Shredder, they were all eliminated, how could they be back after all of this time?" asked Grace in a shocked voice. "This "X", he's behind the Techno Mages, is he a former member of the Foot who has a vendetta and wants to reestablish it? That explains why they tried to take out Dad all those years ago, he helped shut them down for good, but they're back…"

"Maybe we should tell Uncle Harry this, what we found out," said Rosaline gently but Grace just look at her cousin before shaking her head.

"No, the explanations about how I found that out won't be pretty, but…I don't know if I'm ready for something like this," said Grace, feeling a bit unsure about herself. The Foot was dangerous in any form. "I think we better take a step back and realize that nothing has happened yet, just because we have a CD Rom and managed to access it, with the Foot logo coming up…it doesn't mean anything."

"No I suppose it could just be a coincidence but what are the chances of that?" asked Rosaline gently as she looked at her cousin who did not have an answer, not at all. "If they're back…then it's something that has to be dealt with but this could be a front for something more dangerous."

"I hope you're right, I really hope you do, it has to be something else, but they had to have the Hyper Driver for some reason," responded Grace, as she placed her head in her hands. "And I doubt it could be just to have a high powered entertainment system."

-

"The Hyper Drive has been installed and has manufactured Cyberdroid Supremes a dozen per minute, within the next couple of hours, we should have an armor ready to overtake the city," said Khan as he bowed and he could sense a small amount of pleasure coming from his master.

"Yes, Khan, that would be great, an army that would take years to be built by hand, the super computer that we built and the hyper drive that manufactured the army of Cyberdroid Supremes," said "X" in a calm voice. "We will triumph over all and run this city over."

"And the new design is a great nod to the past," said Khan as he stepped back to reveal the new Cyberdroid Supreme or to be more accurate, an android version of the Foot Ninjas of times past. Indestructible with a great variety of weapons and programmed ninjitsu fighting methods, they appeared to be the perfect army. "The Shadow Phantom may have triumphed over them in the past but I doubt she could handle an army this vast and that's just the beginning…"

"My battle machine has neared completion as well, ready to roll over anything that stands in its way on the surface world and then it will be equipped to go to the stars, conquering each world one by one, until I roll all of creation," commented "X" laughing evilly. "It is a plan fit for someone of my stature."

"It is, Master," agreed Khan. "Shall I go supervise the activation of your army?"

"Do so immediately, Khan," answered "X" calmly and Khan left to do so. Everything had fallen in place and soon the Shadow Phantom would fall before his feet, along with the rest of the world, the universe, and all of creation. It would be the powerful god that he was destined to be.

-

"We are diverting more resources to try and bring down the Shadow Phantom, it was because of her that those two super powered freaks attacked me!" shouted Montague but Harry refused to back down.

"Listen here, she saved me and my wife from being killed and saved countless others, you're attacking the wrong people, the Techno Mages should be a concern, they've found a way to simulate magic with technology and you're not the least bit concerned about that?" asked Harry but Montague was not listening, not that he ever listened. He looked at Harry, with a smirk on his face.

"Potter, I allow you a lot because I respect what you've done, granted it was a long time ago, but I feel it is always important to respect your elders but your constant attempt to derail me from properly nailing this Shadow Phantom is getting to be absurd and the fact is, I still think you're behind this," said Montague with a smirk on his face, hoping to bully Harry into a corner but Harry was not backing off, not for a moment.

"Well, it's just as well you think that, remember what I discovered about those little toys used by the Techno Mages, they were based on a project by your Department of Mysteries and they have brought the cities authorities to their knees, even stealing a top secret and highly dangerous government device that could bring the entire city under their control," said Harry. "Yet, you chase after the only person who stands up to them?"

"Look, Potter, once again, I might see where you're coming from but all of these super powered lunatics, freaks, and mutants never showed up until she decided to show her face, petty criminals were the problem and they did not bother us, but when magical people are put in danger, that's when we have to act," said Montague. "Now unless you have something valuable to say to me, I'm going to have to ask you to leave because you are taking up my time and energy."

"Right, sorry to be an inconvenience to you, Chief Executive Officer, Montague," stated Harry with a bit of a sarcastic air to his voice but he got up, walking out of the office. There were times where he knew he was fighting a losing battle and this was quite frankly one of them.

Montague just turned, with a smile on his face as he looked out the window. The next time the Shadow Phantom appeared, his men had orders to take her down on sight and eliminate her no matter what. Lethal force was authorized as that vigilante had put pureblood witches and wizards in the line of fire for the last time.

-

"The army is beautiful," commented one of the lead scientists as the others looked at the army of Cyberdroid Supremes. While it not their work that did it, they did program the specifications into the supercomputer and it, in conjunction with the Hyper Drive, did the rest but the result as allt the same. An army of Cyberdroid Supremes, painted black with a large red three toed foot splashed across the chest plate.

"That it is, it looks deadly and efficiently," said Khan as he stepped forward, before he looked into the shadows, turning to his master for approval.

"Yes, it does, it is perfect, we will loot the city with them, picking it clean but prepare my Elite Techno Mages as well, as the Shadow Phantom may be making an unwelcomed appearance and I shall lead them into victory," said "X" as he held his wand up, before the metal door lifted up, leading to a back alley and another turn lead straight into the city. "Activate the Cyberdroid Supremes, send them out to cash in."

"At once, my Lord," said one of the scientists stepping forward and pressing several buttons on the console. The red eyes of the Cyberdroid Supremes, the new evolution of the Foot, came to life and walked outside, as the Elite Techno Mages, dressed in silvery costumes, with the Foot symbol on it, stepped forward, to watch as the Cyberdroid Supremes entered the city, marching, ready to pick it completely clean until there was nothing left.

-

Several people screamed as a trio of large robots marched into the city, pointing their laser blasters towards a car, upturning it. The Cyberdroid Supremes continued their march, the vicious androids walking towards a family, who stood, huddled together in fear.

"Enemy sighting, seize the spoils," said the Cyberdroid Supreme in monotone, reaching forward, to casually rip the pearls off the neck of the woman, before the chest compartment opened, allowing the android to store it there. Another one reached forward, hacking into the purse, causing wads of cash to fall out as two more came up, grabbing the child. The husband attempted to reach forward, but another Cyberdroid Supreme morphed its fist into a sword.

"Enemy interference, eradicate," stated the Cyberdroid in a bland monotone voice, swiping the sword, slicing the man in the face. The wife shrieked, but the two children were relieved of the money as was the fallen man as the Cyberdroids continued their march across the city, shaking done innocent people, to relieve them of their valuables.

-

In the Potter Residence, Harry returned home, in a frustrated mood, as Ginny approached him, a concerned look on her face.

"Montague's wasting time, trying to unmask the Shadow Phantom, when there are more pressing problems that have to be dealt with," said Harry.

"You don't know the half of it Harry, you better take a look at the news," said Ginny quietly and Harry turned, seeing the Cyberdroid Supremes basically terrorizing the populace, but immediately his eyes fixated on the symbol of his old enemies the Foot. It was one of the last symbols he ever wanted to see in his life, up there with the Dark Mark.

"I have to…" said Harry, but he paused as he saw the pleading look in his wife's eyes, who indicated for him not to do this. "Bishop, he needs to be warned, it is as he feared."

"I know, contact him but please don't get involved in this Harry," said Ginny in a pleading voice.

"I won't Ginny, not this time, maybe this will open up Montague's eyes," said Harry, who knew that he could not handle this even if he wanted to. His recent battle with Adrenaline was proof of that, he still felt the aches and pains from that one and would be for some time. "If Bishop wants to get involved, he can have fun, because this was his little experiment that caused this in the first place."

"I understand Harry and support you all the way, like always," said Ginny but little did they know, Grace looked on from the top of the stairs, seeing the images on the television, the grisly fate that awaited the city if something was not done. While her father did not want to do anything nor should he, the Shadow Phantom was created to help serve and protect innocent lives. This army of Cyberdroid Supremes would trample the city if they were left unchecked and even though it was not easy, it was the right thing to do. Unknowing to her parents, Grace slipped into the room, ready to fight what might be the toughest battle of her life. More deadly than her encounters with Master Magic, Wraith, and Adrenaline combined perhaps but something had to be done. Even though, she could barely handle one Cyberdroid Supreme the last time, in Jammerhead and now there was an entire army out there.

-

"First National Bank, funds inside, amounting to several trillion, funds in approximately ninety seconds, zero," said the Cyberdroid Supreme as he smashed open the inside of the bank, walking inside. The security guards fired their weapons but they might as well have been throwing spitballs for all the good it is doing. "Enemy aggression, will not be tolerated."

The bank guards were blasted and the tellers backed off, as one of the Cyberdroid Supremes casually ripped the vault door open but before he could move, a blur shot at him, punching him right in the face, barely denting it but the Cyberdroid turned. The robot scanned its aggressor and its sensors instantly recognized it.

"Aggressor, the Shadow Phantom, sworn enemy of the master we serve, terminate with extreme prejudice," stated the Cyberdroid Supreme, shooting its blasts towards the Shadow Phantom, who dodged, before picking up the laser blaster of one of the guards, sticking a shuriken with a time delayed explosive, and throwing it towards the android. It exploded, causing the deadly robot to drop to the ground.

"One down, about several thousand to go," responded the Shadow Phantom, as the Cyberdroid Supremes in the bank switched their weapons, revealing iron maces where they swung at her, smashing everything in their control. They were strong enough that Grace had no doubt in her mind that they would destroy her armor and somehow she managed to avoid the shots, but more lasers cut through the air towards her. She tried to maneuver around the attacks, drawing the Cyberdroids inside the vault. If only she could she could make her way inside.

"Come on you oversized bucket of bolts, all those weapons and you can't even hit me," said the Shadow Phantom who was all too aware that she nearly was bludgeoned by the iron mace smashing into her.

"Taunting will not be tolerated, we will destroy you," said the Cyberdroid in an emotionless tone but the Shadow Phantom quickly turned, before she dodged out of the vault and quickly spread her arms, placing them on the walls, with a dozen of the Cyberdroids trapped inside the vault. She activated the sonic vibration gauntlets, rattling the bank.

"EVERYONE OUT, NOW!" shouted the Shadow Phantom to the people who had been foolish enough to linger in the bank and they did not linger much longer, rushing out as fast as they could move. They dodged as the falling concrete and metal slammed right onto the Cyberdroids, burying them underneath. At the last possible second, the propulsion devices were activated, just managing to get Grace out of harm's way. She landed out of the way, as the crunch of several robots being crushed could be heard from miles around.

She staggered to her feet, looking around but she spotted an army of Cyberdroid Supremes, at least twenty of them, marching up the street as people fled for their lives, snatching valuables and throwing people aside like they were trash, before their eyes fixed on the Shadow Phantom, blinking. Their limbs transformed into a variety of weapons, many of them razor sharp.

"Target, the Shadow Phantom, orders, exterminate, threat to the master, don't allow her to live," said one of the robots in a monotone and she dodged the attack, a chain whipped out, but she dodged before the sickle ripped into her. Another attack was avoided, as she aimed a kick at the Cyberdroid Supreme but it phased out of reality, causing her kick to pass right through it. She landed on the ground but remembered the previous encounter with Jammerhead, before she flung another exploding shuriken right into the ice. It blew up the drift, causing water to splash the Cyberdroid Supremes but they continued to walk forward.

"No," said the Shadow Phantom, who realized the design flaw of them rusting when exposed to water must have been eliminated as she dodged more attacks. Several blasts echoed, before one of the Cyberdroid Supremes raised its large staff like hands, before smashing down on her. She dropped to the ground, dazed, battered and confused, as two large battle axe arms were raised up but she managed to roll out of the way. They landed on the ground, stuck into the ice. With a newly found burst of energy, the Shadow Phantom used the back of the Cyberdroid Supreme as a springboard, springing up, before a chain was whipped out, but she caught it and swung her legs around, throwing the sickle right through. The Cyberdroid Supremes phased out of existence for a second but it was obvious that some kind of damage was done.

Sure enough, they short circuited the second they phased out of existence. Their weapon system began to spiral out of control as the Shadow Phantom slid on the ice, before she dodged the assaults of the Cyberdroid Supremes, leading them into the path of the malfunctioning models.

"Danger, danger, abort, now," said the Cyberdroids before they blew up, the smoking body parts flying in every direction, the Shadow Phantom doing a somersault and gripping onto the building, before she climbed up. Panting, she collapsed, before she looked up on the roof and even more robots had surrounded her.

"You've got to be kidding me," grumbled the Shadow Phantom as she could not go anywhere without having to deal with the Cyberdroid Supremes, as she struggled to her feet, attempting to move, but another pair maneuvered in front of her. Bladed weapons swiped at her, as she dodged the assaults, in an attempt to manipulate the attacks against each other. Taking careful aim with her wrist blaster, she sliced a cable before she hung onto it, swinging across the city to the rooftop across. She landed on the roof but the Cyberdroid Supremes propelled themselves across the rooftops and continued to engage her in battle, that showed no signs of stopping.

-

"What's going on in the city?" demanded Bishop.

"Bishop, it appears an army of robots are looting the city and…oh no," stated Stockman as he looked at them. "Focus on that symbol and take a look at this."

Bishop leaned forward, eyes focused on the Foot Symbol on the chest of one of the robots, as a group of children fled for their lives, all over a few dollars. These androids needed to be stopped at all costs. That's what the Hyper Drive was used for, to manufacture an army of those robots that had been sent after the Shadow Phantom. They had been field tests, to perfect them for this invasion.

"BISHOP!" shouted the angry voice of Harry Potter over the communication voice.

"Mr. Potter, I'm afraid I have a situation here that I must address," said Bishop.

"You're right you do, an army of robotic androids with the symbol of the foot released into the city, this wouldn't have anything do with any of your experiments, would it?" asked Harry in a forced calm voice.

"It may, but further study is needed to be certain, but if it's what I think it is, then the entire world may be doomed," said Bishop.

"I know you created something deadly that you don't want anyone to know about but you better find a way to control it now," threatened Harry.

"I'm working on it, but the trouble is I need to find it first," commented Bishop. "Before it finds me and destroys me."

"Those robots, they are cleaning out the city at an alarming rate, it's almost incredible, uncanny, robotic foot ninjas," said Stockman. "It's…"

"A disaster of national and soon to be global and soon enough intergalactic proportions," said Bishop as he walked over, cancelling the transmission, cutting Potter off. He could stew over it as he moved forward to give the order. "Ready the helicopter and all of the commandos you can find in the next five minutes. We have work to do and not a lot of time to do it. But we will make time and eliminate the threat before it consumes the city and everyone in it.

The commandos nodded as they prepared to arm themselves with the most potent weapons they could have had their command. Bishop rarely exaggerated if it was something this dangerous, they would have to stop it, no matter what the cost.

-

The Shadow Phantom was knocked down but she managed to struggle back to her feet, as the army of Cyberdroid Supremes moved towards her, weapons drawn. A net shot right towards her but she blasted right through it. She heard a thump of another robot right behind her. Squirming, she thought of a way to manipulate the two attacks against each other and she crouched down, with one blade coming from one end and a second blade coming from the other end. The Cyberdroids were unable to block in time as they impaled each other.

She winced as a swing of a large heavy mace struck her in the arm, disrupting the circuitry in it. It was quite fortunate for her that she had another gauntlet hat she sent loud sonic vibrations, backing off the Cyberdroid Supremes. It appeared they had a slight vulnerability to sound waves, but she had to keep up the attack no matter what. More sonic blasts fed right into the attackers.

"Rosaline, more power would be nice," muttered the Shadow Phantom

"More power coming right up, in approximately two minutes," stated Rosaline from the other end of the communication.

"Really, that all, well some evasive maneuvering is in order," said the Shadow Phantom as she launched herself with a somersault, landing right to the ground. The army of Cyberdroid Supremes followed her, dropping down as well, beating her to the punch. Cranking up the gauntlet, she sent a vicious punch but they phased out of reality. Drawing her hand back, a second punch caused the building to shake and crumble, sending the Cyberdroids crashing down. Several exploding shurikens flicked down caused another explosion.

"More power and I managed to repair the circuitry in your right arm remotely," stated Rosaline.

"Good because I'm going to need it, bad," stated the Shadow Phantom as she looked up, face to face with another army of Cyberdroid Supremes. The androids opened fire on her, while swinging their weapons at her, dodging each and every attack that they could muster. She held out her hand, motioning for them to come forth but they refused to back off for even a minute.

Actually they stopped as several figures dressed in silver, wielding wands with the symbol of the Foot on their uniforms dropped down.

"Orders, away from this place, Techno Mages will conclude our master's will from here," said the Cyberdroid Supreme as the others departed to continue the beating and suddenly, as quick as a cat, one of the Techno Mages struck the Shadow Phantom right in the chest with a kick, knocking her down to the ground. She struggled to her feet as several punches impacted her, slightly denting her armor over and over again. They wore similar gloves like the ones Mondo wore when they did battle on a previous occasion.

The Techno Mages backed off before they spun their wands in the hand. Several magically created blades shot through the air, spinning like a corkscrew. The Shadow Phantom leapt out of the way before they hit before she aimed a kick but in a second, one of the Techno Mages were out of the way and another kicked her in the back. She ping ponged back and forth between the attacks of the Techno Mages, but somehow, despite being beaten down at an accelerated rate, a back flip placed her behind them. A kick was blocked but she managed to blast the criminal off of her. Another blast knocked one off the roof and she disarmed one of her enemies with the wand. A net ensnared him.

The Shadow Phantom moved around, avoiding a countless number of punches and strikes, along with magically created weapons attacks. She had never seen something more sophisticated in her life as she continued to do battle with them on the roof. Spotting a patch of ice, she released what she needed to do.

"Sorry to give you guys the slip but there is a lot more to be done," said the Shadow Phantom, activating her sonic gauntlets, causing the Techno Mages to back off, slipping backwards. Some of them managed to avoid falling to their doom, while others staggered, cracking their skulls on the pavement. Blood mixed with the snow below as the Shadow Phantom leapt from the rooftops, while meeting another group of Techno Mages who bowed to her.

The fight continued for her, with no end in sight as the Techno Mages continued their assaults, never backing down for an instant. The Shadow Phantom knew one thing. When she thought she had the most difficult battle of her life, she could not even imagine what she was up against today.

-

At the Potter Residence, Harry looked out the window, with Ginny nearby, as they heard the sounds of battle from outside. He was glad his daughter was safely upstairs in her room, and not in the middle of this chaotic scene outside of the city.

"Oh no," muttered Harry as a group of Cyberdroid Supremes appeared, with that accursed logo staring back Harry, taunting him, mocking him.

"Considerable wealth inside, loot and plunder," stated one of the Cyberdroids and Harry winced, he hoped to avoid this and Ginny had a similar irritated look on her face, but they stepped outside of the door, wands drawn. Harry whipped his wand, kicking up a large gust of wind with his mystical powers, knocking the Cyberdroid Supremes slightly off course but they kept pushing back, the army would just not given up and in fact neither would Harry.

"Attack them on my signal, Ginny!" shouted Harry, it was almost like he was back at Hogwarts twenty years ago and fighting Death Eaters but their spells passed though their enemies, as they phased out. Ginny was smacked to the ground but Harry rushed forward, whipping his wand. "You just made the wrong move, you overgrown bullet of bolts."

A loud explosion echoed, causing several metal spikes to impale the Cyberdroid, damaging its circuitry, causing sparks to fly. Harry and Ginny pointed their wands, sending several spells that disrupted the electro magnetic field in the air but it was something that was draining even with their considerable magical talents. The city was filled with Cyberdroid Supremes and Harry put the blame squarely on one Agent John Bishop.

-

Up on the rooftops, the Shadow Phantom had her own problems, just dodging a deadly assault. The spot of roof had just exploded, causing debris to fly everywhere as she blasted them with metallic rings, snapping around them, but another Techno Mage dropped down. A punch dropped the heroine to the ground but she managed to find a way back to her feet, blasting snow right in at the Techno Mages. A rather ineffective assault but it gave her proper cover for more assaults.

Several orbs were flung, releasing the objects that she recognized as being used on her armor during her first encounter with the Techno Mages. Blasting them out of the way, she somersaulted to her feet, managing to kick the Techno Mages. They were knocked back but they kept coming, wands transfigured into swords. Ducking and dodging, the Shadow Phantom managed to avoid the attacks of her rather persistent enemies, before flicking her hand, sending more sonic vibrations straight at them. Another pair of nets wrapped around them and with that gesture, she was out of nets and nearly out of metallic rings.

"Okay, at exactly what point did I lose control of this situation?" muttered the Shadow Phantom to herself as she ducked and dodged, just barely keeping half of a step ahead of the combined magical and ninjitsu assaults of her opponent. A sword made of pure magical energy sliced into her armor, it was lucky that the self repairing properties had not been damaged in the battle, but she raised her arms, before sending sonic attacks. The Techno Mages leapt out of the way, as did she, but the landed on the rooftop. More attacks, as she did as well as could be expected against the overwhelming odds.

Below, she spotted the Cyberdroid Supremes overrunning the city, more citizens fleeing in terror. Several police forces aimed their weapons, attempting to cut them down but to no effect. She turned around to continue her fight against the elite group of Techno Mages just as a pair of Sais struck one of the Cyberdroid Supremes in the back from the alleyway, short circuiting it.

-

"Everyone move in, the threat grows as more of them move in," said Bishop as he turned to reestablish communication with Stockman, as his commandos fired on the threat endangering the city, managing to have some amount of success. "Any luck in locating the source of the distinctive energy signature given off by the Hyper Drive, Stockman?"

"None at all," said the scientist with regret. "It is almost like they are masking its energy field but if I can pinpoint a singular point of origin where the Cyberdroids are being sent from."

"Do it," said Bishop shortly as he leapt up, throwing a levitating grenade in the air. The Cyberdroid Supreme phased out for a brief second but phased back in, causing it to be blown to bits. Several more were taken out but it would be a long fight. Especially considering he had to get to the problem he had unleashed before it got to the Shadow Phantom or anyone else for that matter.

-

One of the Techno Mages crashed down to the ground as the Shadow Phantom continued her battle with them. She was running purely on fumes, out of pure desperation as she continued the battle. Her breathing was heavy.

"Just how many of you are there anyway?" demanded the Shadow Phantom, as she knocked one of them down with an enhanced punch before she collapsed to her knees. They exchanged looks before backing off to the side. The Shadow Phantom's eyes looked in, glazed over, at the group of Techno Mages bowing down to the ground. "What did I say the magic words or something?

"The Shadow Phantom," said a rough voice as a figure stepped forward, concealed in the shadows. "Over recent months, you have interfered in my operations, caused great discomfort for my Techno Mages, interfering countless times, and disrupting my plans of conquest. That ends today."

"I've heard that one before…it's the mysterious "X", right," commented the Shadow Phantom dryly but a pair of red eyes stared back at her from the shadows.

"I am called many things," said "X" in a wicked tone of voice. "However, you may call me…THE SHREDDER!"


	15. Chapter 15: Project X Part Two

**Chapter Fifteen: Project X Part Two**

The Shadow Phantom took a step back as the imposing figure took a step forward. Thick metallic armor with spikes on the side and a helmet that only allowed glowing red eyes to be seen, there was no mistake about it. This was the Shredder but the question was how and perhaps more importantly, who. It had to be someone new underneath the spiked suit, that was the only way.

"Now you have been a thorn in my side for much too long and the Techno Mages failed to finish you off but make no mistake about it, I shall finish you and eliminate you once and for all," said the Shredder, before he rushed forward. The Shadow Phantom was knocked backwards by one punch that seemed more vicious than a dozen punches delivered by anyone else. The Shredder dove into the air, gauntlet extended but the Shadow Phantom just narrowly dodged it. The evil force landed on his feet and aimed a foot, connecting right to the chest of the Shadow Phantom, knocking her down. Fortunately, there was another lower building with a roof coated with snow that cushioned her fall. There was little fortunate with what was about to happen next.

The Shredder dove from the roof above, razor sharp gauntlet extended. He landed, jamming them into the roof but the Shadow Phantom rolled out of the way, pulling herself up to a standing position. A kick was blocked and the Shredder slammed him down, before a kick caught her right in the stomach. She wheezed in pain as the Shredder raised his arms and slammed them down. She struggled but another slam of both arms viciously dropped her right on her face. The Shadow Phantom felt pain beyond anything and the Shredder reared back his head. The gauntlet jammed right into her armor, ripping into it, sending her crashing down to the roof. The roof cracked below her and quickly she activated the gauntlets, sending sonic vibrations. The concrete and the ice cracked, causing the roof to collapse with both of them on it.

Both fell to the building below, the Shadow Phantom somehow adjusted her footing to land on her feet, but staggered after she did, falling face first on the ground. She pulled herself up, struggling, coughing. If she did not have a few injured ribs, it would be surprising but the red eyes of the Shredder appeared as he walked forward. Quickly, she raised her arm and swung for the fences, activated the amplifiers. She struck the Shredder with a super enhanced punch.

Nothing, just a stabbing pain in her arm but she refused to give up. Both arms were lifted and she punched the Shredder, but still nothing. Calmly, effortlessly, without blinking, the Shredder reared back his right hand and smacked her right to the face, sending her right through three wooden support beams, knocking her to the ground. Angrily, the Shredder picked up a two by four, holding it over his head with ease.

"I'll show you what happens to those who oppose me you foolish little girl," thundered the Shredder as a loud crack echoed as the two by four slammed right across the back of the head of the Shadow Phantom. The Shredder stepped back and raised his gauntlet, the back part of her helmet was busted, exposing her neck but the door blasted open, revealing Earth Protection Force commandos who sent laser blasts towards the Shredder. The Shredder backed off before he angrily leapt up, hacking the weapons to shreds. Several sparks flew in every direction as the Shredder continued to move but Bishop lead another team through.

"Cover us, we need to get her out of here now," said Bishop as he looked at the Shadow Phantom, as blood dripped from underneath her helmet, as she had suffered a savage beating at the hands of the Shredder, similar to a beating her father suffered when he was twelve years old by the individual who had the moniker of the Shredder at that time. The commandos moved forward, but the Shredder plowed them down effortlessly. He moved towards the Shadow Phantom but Bishop leapt forward, taking the Shredder down with a kick. The armored evil bounced to his feet and aimed his spiked gauntlets at Bishop but Bishop dodged them. "Equipped for anything and tough to put down as intended but so am I."

Bishop kicked off the wall, sending the Shredder down before he removed a sonic grenade from underneath his trenchcoat, as his commandos had taken the Shadow Phantom away to get medical aide. The grenade blasted, staggering the Shredder back but it would not hold him for long. Bishop slipped out the window to the helicopter.

"Out of here immediately, we have no time to waste, the Shredder will not be put down for long," said Bishop as the pilot drove the copter as the Shredder slammed through the windows, looking at the helicopter and his chance to slaughter the Shadow Phantom into a bloody mangled mess flying right away. The Shredder clenched his fist, almost imagining the Shadow Phantom's head in them but recovered quickly.

"No matter, I will crush her in due time along with those who oppose me when I begin my conquest of this pathetic mudball," commented the Shredder, before he prepared to make communications with Khan. "Khan, is it completed yet?"

"Nearly, Master, within the next few hours it will be done, along with an army of thousands of Cyberdroid Supremes at your command," responded Khan in a pleased voice and the Shredder nodded.

"You have done well Khan and the Cyberdroid Supremes have cleaned out the city, despite what pitiful resistance its citizens have mustered, soon I will unleash them all over the world, cleaning it out before I blow everything into cosmic dust," responded the Shredder. "A small price to pay for an even greater victory, as the blood of millions will stain the universe and then I will go forth each and every world one by one, with a growing army. The universe will be mine, I will be a god!"

The Shredder responded with the same wicked laughter that he was closely associated with before.

-

"They just won't stop coming!" shouted Ginny, as she sent another spell at one of the Cyberdroid Supremes and Harry whipped his wand, causing a small earthquake underneath it. The Cyberdroid was shaken up and he blasted it backwards and his shield spell just barely contained the assault. "I don't know…"

"How to stop them, believe me, I'll let you know when I figure it out," stated Harry in a frustrated voice, as he aimed another spell at one, attempting to strike it in the sensory field. It overloaded the circuits but he felt winded. He had not done this much magic in years but suddenly, the Cyberdroid Supremes stopped attacking and backed off.

"Our master says we should return to base, phase one of operation is completed, time to proceed with the conquest of this planet," said one of the Cyberdroid Supremes as they blasted up into the air, flying into the distance. Harry held his wand, in an attempt to tag it but he felt nothing.

"Tracking charm, somehow I can't get one on this tin can," responded Harry, answering Ginny's unasked question as he frowned, deep in thought as he looked at his wife. "Or maybe no one wants me to put a tracking charm on it, because they thought of it. It's time to make a few calls, surely Montague can't ignore this and I need to get back in touch with Bishop after he disconnected me."

"Right Harry," said Ginny, as they both glanced over their shoulders but all of the Cyberdroid Supremes had left the streets, leaving it a wreck. Where they had gone could not be known for certain but they did do their damage. There were reports coming all over the city that they were leaving, but not after millions worth of money and merchandise had been stolen, nearly everything of value and the entire city was in a panic about how to get it back.

-

Grace's eyes flickered open. She felt sore and ached as she was in a dark room and sat up, as Agent Bishop entered the room, with a smirk on his face. The Shadow Phantom saw the locket that contained her suit laying on the table right next to her and wondered how it had been removed.

"I was wondering when you would awake, then again you suffered a horrific beating, cracked ribs and head trauma, but we managed to repair the injuries, your suit, is another matter entirely but even when damaged, its still a joy to remove, several people were electrocuted before Stockman managed to figure out a way to temporarily rewire it to bypass the security protocols," said Bishop as he nodded towards her. "We have far more pressing matters to deal with…"

"The Shredder, did you stop him?" asked Grace suddenly.

"No, not even close," stated Bishop in a calm voice but he looked to be distressed, a rare expression for him. "He may never be stopped because what he is."

"But he was stopped once before, because he was supposed to dead, in fact, all of them were supposed to be dead," argued Grace. "Yet he's still…"

"Alive, yes I'm aware of that and the fact that the other three individuals who have held the moniker of the Shredder had met some demise back when your father still did the hero bit," remarked Bishop calmly. "Still you are correct, they are gone but now this new force that I unleashed into the world…it may be even more dangerous than any other Shredder that has existed."

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU CREATED IT?" shouted Grace as she leapt up but she collapsed, her ribs were still a little bit sore but Bishop did not seem to be effected by her sudden outburst. He just looked at her, with a calm, emotionless tone before he waved his hand.

"It all begins with the Triceraton Invasion of twenty five years ago, I made a pact with the alien organization known as the Federation, to help deliver them a Fugitoid, where trapped inside was the mind of one of the universe's most brilliant scientists, Professor Honeycutt and in exchange, I would receive the Turtles and Harry Potter on a plate, I had been intrigued with them for some time, the advanced DNA of the four reptiles but your father's magical abilities were quite unique, as I had made myself familiar with his exploits at Hogwarts as much as I could be allowed," said Bishop. "I will admit that I knew he was something rather special, something could rally entire armies with a few words that could lead people to great victories. Harry Potter was something the world needed but Harry Potter would not be around for the world forever. So as a result, I needed to take steps to assure that would not be a problem in the event of your father's inevitable death."

"In other words, you played God like you have done before," said Grace in an accusing voice but once again Bishop did not appear to be too bothered with the accusing tone in the voice of the teenager. Rather he just continued his explanation as if she had not made a comment at all.

"I had extracted the DNA of the Turtles, which served me in many purposes but in the end, proved to be too combustive to used for long term use of the super soldiers after many failed prototypes, that left me with one thing, your father, as thanks to a genius device, I managed to find a way to extract magical energy, but it would be something that I would be very careful with, as one minor calculation and I could have something more dangerous than a nuclear weapon on my hands," said Bishop. "It took many more years and numerous tests, as I lent my assistance to Harry and his friends whenever I could, obviously there were some cases where we were at odds but I went out of my way to make sure they were not killed. Partly because of the necessity of my work but partly because I always enjoy a good challenge, but no matter what he needed to remain alive until it was completed. From there…well whatever happened, happened, if he lived a nice long life, then I would just have something in storage taking up space."

"You created a clone of Dad?" asked Grace in a shocked and quite frankly appalled voice, feeling slightly sickened at this for reasons that she could not determine.

"Yes, well in theory it would have been one but the natural of magical DNA has caused the cloning process to become rather unstable, once intermingled with non-magical DNA, it does fine, as a small component but otherwise it creates a clone that breaks down at an accelerated rate," said Bishop. "I had created a new version of Harry Potter, but it would not last for too long, I needed it to last for millennia, but it would only last for a few weeks before it began to breakdown. I needed a way to stabilize the clone but thankfully Doctor Stockman's past association with the Utrom version of Shredder offered me the elements I needed."

"And that's where I come in with further explanations," commented Stockman as he walked in, on his robotic egg form, spider legs on the floor. "Indeed, I had trace amounts of DNA, blood that was left in his various damaged exosuits, of the Utrom Shredder. I saved it as a scientific curiosity, as I would never know when it would come in handy and it did come in handy in more way's then one. Bishop's plan to create not just a living weapon, but the ultimate weapon, in the clone of Potter, was a promising idea but scientifically speaking it did not appear to be possible without some slight modifications to stabilize it. I had to put the clone in stasis to run even more tests. I had numerous alien DNA samples at my disposal but none of them matched up, that was until I attempted to test it with the DNA samples with the Utrom Shredder. A perfect match, more than perfect as not only would it stabilize the DNA to stop from generation but it would also make for a stronger more durable clone, that could strike down any and all alien threats, should the need arise and it was safe to assume that it would."

"Something went wrong, though," said Grace with a frown, it always did with something liket his.

"Indeed, the alien DNA was fused with your father's, with some other modifications as well," explained Bishop. "Armor used the build the Super Shredder Exosuit when the Shredder attempted to return to the Utrom Homeworld and conquered them was fused to the skin, adding a natural layer of protection. We also had several control chips planted into the brain of the clone, failing to realize your father's natural ability to fight off mental attacks, not to mention one other variable that we had failed to isolate and contend for. Still, we didn't know that at the time and he escaped. As for that incident, this security tape footage can show you better than either of us can explain."

Bishop lifted up the remote control, as they turned, where images appeared on the screen of events of nearly a decade ago when the proposed ultimate weapon to defend Earth neared completion.

-

"A complete scientific marvel," said Stockman as he looked at the figure floating in the stasis tube, the Shredder armor fused to the body of Harry Potter, his lifeless face looking back at them. "I must say, I am amazed at what we had done."

"Quite right Stockman, is in a marvel but now let us awaken our creation, to see what it can truly do," stated Bishop in a firm voice as Stockman activated the control panel, draining the stasis fluid. The eyes opened, but instead of the emerald green eyes of Harry Potter, there were the red eyes of one Lord Voldemort staring back at them. "Step forth my creation and I will allow you to give a demonstration of your abilities."

"Your creation is that what you call me?" asked the clone, in the unmistakable voice of the Shredder causing Stockman to step back. "Let me make one thing perfectly clear, I am no one's creation. I am a force that you tried to contain and now you release me. You are truly fools."

"Bring him under control Stockman," ordered Bishop in a panicked voice but as Stockman pressed the buttons, he received no response but rather the clone right before him began to laugh madly, before he jammed his spiked gauntlets right into the remote control, sending it crashing to the ground, spitting sparks. The Shredder knocked Stockman to the side effortlessly.

"You do not control what can't be defeated, my empire will be rebuilt and I will crush all who oppose me underneath my foot, starting with you," said the Shredder as he hoisted up Bishop, before he threw him right into the glass stasis container with surprising strength. Several commandos rushed in at the alarm and the Shredder raised his hand, causing several of the Triceraton blasters to blow up in their hands, with an unintentional Reducto spell. The Shedder looked at his hands. "An interesting and unexpected but highly intriguing event, perhaps this could be of some use."

The Shredder sprung up quickly, slicing through the commandos, before he pointed his hand at a door as it opened. There were memories that most certainly did not belong to him, of a wide variety of magical spells, some of them sadistic and cruel. Still, he knew what he had to do, as he looked at the mirror, the face of Harry Potter staring back at him.

"They tried to place my essence in a clone of Potter, but I have proven to be the master of my destiny," said the Shredder, as he looked, before he raised his spiked gauntlets, mutilating his own face. He could not stand to see this face staring back at him. Blood splashed to the ground, as he held his hands on the cheeks, healing the wounds but not before they disfigured the face of Harry Potter. The Shredder nodded, pleased with his results, before he moved forward, seeing a security camera in the corner. He plunged his spiked gauntlets into it and the video camera feed went dead.

-

"The weapon escaped, shortly after we awakened it, our attempts to track it through the control chips had turned up nothing, it was highly likely that he had managed to disable them as soon as possible, with the combined intellect of Potter and the Shredder in there, that was a highly likely result," said Stockman. "Our troubles had only just begun with the escape of the Shredder, our discoveries later on had acquired more ghastly results than you could imagine."

"Unfortunately, there was more than the DNA of those two floating around there," said Bishop as Grace looked at him, with an accusing look. "The unintended variable that was mentioned earlier this was it and it was unintended in the biggest way possible. It was the ultimate example of something going completely wrong at the worst possible time."

"Exactly what was it?" asked Grace in a slightly demanding voice out of morbid curiosity and Bishop and Stockman exchanged looks as if debating what they could tell her. "Who was the third person?"

"Lord Voldemort," said Bishop shortly and Grace gasped in horror. This was not as bad as she thought it was. It was much worse. "Your father had a connection with Voldemort, based on the failed killing curse a connection that still existed when I had lifted his magic from him to do this experiment. It had left some kind of taint in his DNA and the connection was open at the time, causing me to inadvertently pull a bit of Lord Voldemort through."

"A bit is putting it mildly, we scanned the remaining magic, comparing it to blood we had one file from Mr. Potter and only a small part of it matched, the rest of it came from a source separate from Harry Potter," said Stockman. "Given what we found it, we had one conclusion to draw and that was instead of creating the ultimate weapon to protect the world, we created the ultimate weapon which to destroy the world."

"It would not have happened, had it not been for the fact that Voldemort's DNA was brought through," remarked Bishop in a calm voice. "The Shredder DNA was supposed to be mostly dormant, a stabilizing agent for the magical DNA. However with Voldemort and the Shredder combined…"

"We have the new and improved Shredder that we see before us today," said Grace in an agitated voice. To say this was a disaster it would be putting it rather mildly. She doubted there was even a word to describe the problem that they were faced it.

"The magical abilities of Potter and Riddle, the intelligence of both of them, combined with the ninjitsu abilities of Potter and the Shredder, and the sadistic cunning expressed by Voldemort and the Shredder, a dangerous and potent mixture and the results are what we saw," said Bishop. "The warning signs were evident for years, but with your father's injury, that sealed the deal. I never did give him the full picture, no matter his constant attempts to gather information. How much he had guessed, only he knows but the fact remains that the Shredder is back and more unstoppable then ever."

"So what do you plan on doing?" asked Grace as she looked at Bishop and Stockman who exchanged a look, it was almost a pitying expression, as if they were saddened by how naïve she was. It was several uncomfortable moments of silence before they began to speak once again.

"I'm afraid it is as hopeless, we ran countless tests, he is unstoppable as we had created him to, he was intended to be a weapon against the most dangerous of alien threats to the Earth," said Stockman. "The power he possesses is unimaginable, his endurance is inhumane, I believe you have found out nearly that much when you had attempted to battle him before he rolled over you today."

"Yes, I know, but he might be invincible but his minions are not, his Techno Mages and that army of Cyberdroid Supremes, if we shut them down, we might force him into a situation where a hidden vulnerability that you missed when you created him. No one is perfect…"

"Perhaps we were a bit efficient but there is something to be said about Miss Potter's deductions, the fact is if we eliminate his minions, his campaign against the Earth might be slowed down, but not stopped and that will give us more time to find a way to stop him," stated Bishop.

"But how do you stop the unstoppable?" asked Stockman but Bishop raised his hand before he took a deep breath.

"That is a bridge we're going to have to cross when the time comes," responded Bishop as he looked at Stockman. "However, you had failed the trace the Hyper Drive but you were working on pinpointing the area where the army of Cyberdroid Supremes were being manufactured. Have you had any success?"

"I believe you see a correlation, all the activity is around this area, where this block of warehouses is about where they are being manufactured but the problem is locating which one it is," stated Stockman but Grace looked at them. She remembered this area of the city well, it was where she fought Adrenaline and the Techno Mages a while back, in the accident that turned Adrenaline into what she was today.

"Did any of those warehouses get rebuilt recently?" asked Grace in a curious voice, as her mind began to piece together what was going on.

"Yes, the third one to the right here, why?" inquired Bishop but Grace just responded with a smile.

"I know where it is, just give me a moment to suit up and I'll be ready to go," said Grace, as she tried to block the injuries out of her mind. Normally Bishop would protest this course of action but given what they were up against they needed all of the help they could get. Bishop walked forward, before getting the intercom.

"Ready the helicopters, we have a factory we need to shut down," said Bishop in a calm voice, as the sounds of his commandos once again mobilizing could be heard. Bishop wished he had a larger army at his disposal.

-

"Move the Hyper Drive into the vessel," grunted Khan and the Techno Mages did as they were told. The war machine that their Master had created had reached completion and the master computer would still be able to control enough Cyberdroid Supremes to sufficiently guard the place until they had gotten the vessel into the air. Khan turned and saw his Master walk forward. Quickly he bowed down before the Shredder, who stood before Khan, with a humorless expression underneath his helmet. "Master all is ready, soon you will be able to take to the stars and unleash your armies to pillage the planet,"

"Good, remain on this planet and I will return to you once I have completely wiped it clean of all resources before I sent it into oblivion," said the Shredder, who in reality had no interest returning for followers who had failed in once too often. He would summon the Cyberdroid Supremes, with the riches of the earth, leaving all the humans behind and then blow it to ashes. "Is the Hyper Drive installed the ship?"

"It is being done now, Master and it will be ready to launch within fifteen minutes," stated Khan in a rough voice and the Shredder responded with a nod, before an alarm began to sound from outside the warehouse.

"What is this?" demanded the Shredder.

"Intruders, but there is no need to be alarm, the army of five hundred Cyberdroid Supremes shoot be more than enough to take care of them," said Khan as he moved forward. "All Cyberdroid Supremes, your orders are to destroy all who attempt to enter. Do not allow anyone passage."

-

"I'm guessing that's the place," said Bishop as he heard the alarms go off and the army of Cyberdroid Supremes marched out. "And we have a welcoming committee to attend with, well no one said this was easy. Open fire, missiles at full impact, aim right for as many Cyberdroid Supremes that you can."

Several missiles launched right towards the Cyberdroid Supremes. Many of the androids blew up but others came flying, launching themselves into the air, swiping their weapons towards the helicopters. Suddenly the Shadow Phantom rushed forward, before she aimed both of her feet down a trio of Cyberdroid Supremes. They landed on the ground, morphing their limbs into the bladed weaponry, before they rushed forward. The Shadow Phantom dodged all of the attacks, the weapons swiping the air behind them but suddenly, she flipped over the fence, kicking them down. More attacks but several large bombs dropped from the helicopters.

"Activated super magnetic disrupter weapons, we might knock out every computer within a five mile radius but it has to be done," said Stockman as several bombs were dropped. Magnetic pulses fried the computers the robots but they kept coming.

"Everyone evacuate right now, I have an idea that may take a good deal of them out," stated Bishop, as the commandos moved forward, before they jumped from the helicopters, blasting down at the Cyberdroid Supremes, sending them packing. The Shadow Phantom attacked them from all sides, backing them off, knocking them down. Her armor was running dangerously low on power but the communication link between her and Rosaline had been severed during the battle with the Shredder. She used several inventive tactics but Bishop looked down, before jamming all of the buttons on the control console of the helicopter at once. "Clear the area now, everyone move out of the way!"

"He's lost his mind," muttered the Shadow Phantom as she dodged out of the way, as Bishop prepared to crash land the helicopter, all weapons firing, right into the mass of Cyberdroid Supremes. They fought but he had an intense look on his face, slamming on another red button, activating the weapons release system, sending a series of bombs downwards, blowing them all to smithereens. Bishop moved forward, grabbing the crate of weapons, attaching an explosive device to it, timed to go off in twenty minutes. Bishop dove out of the helicopter at the last minute, before it slammed into the entire army of Cyberdroid Supremes. The vast majority of them blew to pieces and those who did not were severely damaged. Some moved forward, but the commandos fired at them, backing them off.

Bishop got to his feet, he looked dazed but he saw his commandos rushing at him.

"I'm fine, now with the security out of the way, we can get inside," said Bishop but he stopped at a large sound of a hatch door being opened could be heard along with the sound of rockets blasting off.

"I don't think we could be sure of that right now," said Stockman as the roof one of the warehouses opened. The commandos opened fire, but it just rose up out of the depths of the factory. An enormous spaceship shaped like the helmet of the Shredder hovered in the sky, looking down, glowing red eyes prominent.

Sounds of laughter echoed, amplified throughout the city, as the ship continued to rise into the air, all attacks bouncing off of it.


	16. Chapter 16: Project X Part Three

**Chapter Sixteen: Project X Part Three**

The spaceship lifted into the air, the evil laughter of the Shredder echoing through the entire city. The sight of a spaceship shaped like the Shredder's helmet hat to be seen to be believed and under any other circumstances, it would be the most ridiculous thing in the world. The deadly laser blast propelled from the glowing red eyes on the helmet proved to be rather deadly. The commandos who remained standing scattered to every side, as Bishop stood by, back on his feet despite the nasty spill he suffered.

"Open fire, aim for the helmet, crack it open," ordered Bishop and the commandos did as they were told, opening fire right on the helmet. The laser blasts struck the helmet, bouncing off of it but there was nothing to be had. Rather several more blasts bounced off of the helmet, having no effect, before the helmet returned fire. The laser beams tore through the air, impacting the ground below. More loud explosions as the Shadow Phantom looked up. The spaceship continued to levitate into the air and there was no way they could catch it on the ground or with the helicopters that they had. Still she was reminded of something that she could use to catch up to the Shredder. Providing she moved quickly, she might be able to catch up to his spaceship before his plan could be implemented

-

"They've retreated why have they…" stated Harry before he looked into the sky, eyes widened at what he saw and Ginny turned to him before they both looked up eyes widened at the space ship in the air. The fact that there was a space ship to begin with did not surprise them. The shape on the other end was something that caused their eyes to widen in horror as it continued to rise up high above the city.

"No, how can it…" said Ginny. "Please tell me that's not who I think it is."

"I'm going to have a long chat with Agent Bishop," responded Harry as he held his wand, looking at the spaceship before he placed it back into his pocket. "No too far out of reach, I'm not even sure magic would dent it anyway, it looks to be pretty well built, and I can see concealed weaponry as well."

"What can we do?" asked Ginny in a hopeless voice, looking at Harry, who looked back at his wife, taking a deep breath before he sighed.

"Right now, I doubt there's anything we can do," stated Harry in a deflated voice as he walked down the street, they were a long way from home and he could sense that the city had been put under lockdown for magical travel. A rather stupid idea as it prevented people from leaving to save their lives.

-

"No matter what the military throws at this spaceship, there is no stopping it, the missiles only slow it temporarily and then it fires back with great weapons yet, blowing it out of the sky," stated the newscaster as Rosaline watched, fingers clenched together. The transmission with Grace had been disconnected and she was worried. There was even more worry caused by this recent development. "The President is issuing a state of emergency address and the evacuation of New York City seems eminent."

"Rosaline, I don't have much time," said Grace as she walked through the door and Rosaline felt relieved but however there was no time for reunion as Grace looked serious. She held out her armor, that looked slightly damaged. "Recharge this as much as you can and repair it within the next five minutes. That might be pushing for the time we can spare but I need to get up there and stop that ship before it reaches outer space. I don't know what the Shredder is up to, but it can't be good."

"So it really is him," stated Rosaline with widened eyes as she looked at her cousin. "But how…"

"I'll explain later, the Triceraton Space Ship that Dad rebuilt is still in the bunker below, right?" asked Grace and Rosaline responded with a nod. "Right, get to work on that suit, I'll get the ship up and running…little time to waste, explain later."

Grace said this all in one breath as she turned, rushing towards the downstairs bunker. Rosaline turned, to repair the suit. It did not dawn on her until a few minutes after she had begun working that her cousin was rushing headlong into a battle with one of the most dangerous threats the universe had ever seen but by then, she realized that there was not too much that she could do except to make sure the suit was running the best it could. She repaired the functions, restocked the weapons as much as she could, and boosted the power levels to the highest level possible without short circuiting the suit. It would take all of this, Grace's natural skill, and a little bit of luck to defeat the Shredder.

Rosaline hoped her cousin was up to it, as she came down the stairs to retrieve the repaired suit.

"I've got most of it working, diverting power from areas which are too damaged to fix this quickly," said Rosaline. "Most of the charm work is still in tact and the weapons are mostly working…"

"It will have to do," stated Grace, as she put the locket around her neck, containing the miniaturized version of her armor. "Wish me luck."

"Good luck and be careful," stated Rosaline as she watched her cousin leave and seconds later, the Triceraton Space Ship lifted out of the sky, as the images on television showed that the Shredder's ship was not just a speck in the sky.

-

The Shredder checked the pods containing the Cyberdroid Supremes, as the Hyper Drive powered super computer in the ship was programmed to launch them onto specific parts of the Earth, once he had inputted a code. They would loot the Earth and then return with the riches. Once all of the resources had been picked clean, he would activate the cannon at the base of the helmet, which would blow the planet into cosmic dust.

He looked over his shoulder, seeing a Triceraton Ship approaching his spaceship quickly. Clenching his fist, the Shredder walked over and pulled a lever. If someone wanted to come after him so bad, they would get blown to pieces for their insolence. Several missiles were armed and launched, right at the incoming ship. It would only be seconds, before it struck and this annoyance would be eliminated.

-

Grace piloted the ship, escaping the atmosphere as she saw the floating Shredder helmet rising higher above the Earth. She tried to figure out what the plan was but suddenly the helmet stopped, before a base appeared from underneath it. Several missiles ripped through the air, launched right towards her ship. The missiles launched right through the air, right towards the Triceraton spaceship. Quickly, Grace slammed her fist down on a red square button. An energy cannon was activated, aimed right at the missiles. It cut through space, blasting the missiles into smithereens one by one. She pulled a switch, moving towards the ship, before pressing a button. The bottom of her ship was magnetized, pulling itself right into the edge of the ship. The Triceraton Ship stuck right to the back of the head of the ship and Grace moved forward, the Shadow Phantom armor on now, slipping a breather device underneath it and picking up a pair of alien blasters that had been left on the ship. She would need all of the help she could get if she hoped to beat the Shredder and every trick at her disposal.

-

The Shredder sat in the throne room of his ship. He was nearly to the point where he wanted to be. Only minutes away from being at the proper angle, then the entire planet would suffer. Years of careful planning would come to an end and then he would return, conquering planet after planet, including the hated Utrom Homeworld and many more.

The hatch in the next room crashed open which caused the Shredder to get to his feet, glaring forward as he took a few steps, before he pried open the door. He stepped forward and walked right into a laser blast right to the chest. The blast knocked him off of his feet but the Shredder quickly rebounded and was face to face with the Shadow Phantom, who stood, blaster in her hand and an intense look in her eyes.

"You!" shouted the Shredder angrily.

"Me," remarked the Shadow Phantom calmly. "I'm here to meddle in your plans, as you might say."

"That is where you are mistaken, you foolish girl, I will destroy you," said the Shredder in a thunderous and deadly voice. "You should have remain on Earth where your death was quick and merciful. Now I shall deliver you a prolonged execution that is fitting with someone of your impudent tongue. You brought this misfortune onto yourself. I shall enjoy making your last moments of life in agony and misery, because you will not be leaving here alive."

The Shredder dove up, gauntlet extended and he attempted to slam them down, but the Shadow Phantom dodged the attack at the last possible second. A barrage of laser blasters but the Shredder charged forward, swiping his spiked gauntlets again, a back flip launched her over the Shredder and a kick staggered him. Another laser blast and the Shadow Phantom leapt up. A net shot out to contain him which worked well as expected. As in, not at all, as the Shredder ripped through the net like it was nothing. The two circled each other. A kick was avoided and the dangerous ninja dove into the air, smashing a punch down right onto the head of the Shadow Phantom, dropping her to the ground. Another punch had caused her to fly backwards onto the ground and a kick had knocked the wind out of here.

"Pathetic, I would have assumed to have a greater fight out of you, before your death," stated the Shredder, but the Shadow Phantom swung the laser blaster, bringing it right into the head of the Shredder. A loud clang of metal against metal echoed, as she aimed a series of blast, the Shredder deflecting them all with his spiked gauntlets. The Shredder rushed forward, attempting to attack her. A somersault had launched her over the head and the Shadow Phantom aimed a kick but the Shredder blocked it. She was launched into the air, before she was slammed down to the ground. A kick and she was sent against the wall, landing with a large thud. The Shredder rushed her, spiked gauntlets raised. She rolled out of the way and his gauntlets slammed into the wall, stuck in place. He struggled to remove them from the walls as she picked up the laser blaster and cranked the setting to full power.

"I hope this works," muttered The Shadow Phantom, aiming the laser blaster and several blasts struck the Shredder in the back. They barely even dented the armor and after a few seconds, the laser was out of power. The Shredder yanked his gauntlets from the wall and the Shadow Phantom launched the laser right at him. It broken into pieces, dropping to the ground and crumbled into nothing, and the battle resumed. The Shadow Phantom was knocked right off of her feet with a punch. A kick rocked her and another kick had nearly knocked her over the side into the power core. She hung on and slid out of the way, before swinging up. Both feet connected with the side of the Shredder's head.

The Shredder staggered forward as she raised her arms before slamming them onto the ground. A sonic vibration shook the ground and launched him into the air. However, the dangerous foe landed on his feet and several shuriken flung, sticking into his armor. They exploded on cue but they did not even make a dent. She had to dodge another attack and sprung into the air. With the power amplifiers cranked up, she reared back her hand. She slammed her fist right into the head of the Shredder. Two more amplified punches but they had only backed the Shredder off slightly, before he hoisted her up.

"Foolish insect, I will crush you like the pest you are," said the Shredder in a wicked voice, throwing the Shadow Phantom up into the air. She slammed down with a crash. His foot smashed down right onto her, knocking the wind out of her, before she was hoisted up above his head, with surprising strength. His evil laughter echoed through her ears as she struggled. The Shredder walked over, to throw her down into the engines of the ship but fortunately, she had a trick up her sleeve. The sonic gauntlets activated had blasted a barrage of high frequency sound waves right into the Shredder's ear drums. It staggered him and a grappling hook shot out of the gauntlet, latching onto a railing and when it was retracted, it pulled her out of his grip. The Shadow Phantom threw herself back before she swung forward.

"Take this!" shouted the Shadow Phantom as she smashed her feet into the chest of the Shredder. He staggered back and another attack knocked him back. Three metal rings flung out, snapping around the Shredder, but he quickly busted out, sending the broken fragments of the rings down to the ground. The Shadow Phantom took a deep breath and another punch reared back, catching her foe rattling him slightly.

Suddenly the ship abruptly stopped, causing her to stagger to the ground. The Shadow Phantom pulled herself to a standing position, looking at the Shredder who had a triumphant expression on his face.

"Time to finish this, I think, before my plan can fully be accomplished," said the Shredder as the gauntlet swung forward. It threatened to puncture into her armor and damage the circuits but the Shadow Phantom ducked the attack. Another attack was avoided with several more swipes of the gauntlet coming close. Quickly she shot the grappling hook up, before she hoisted herself up. Swinging forward, her feet crashed right into the Shredder. He hit the ground with a thud but bounced back up like it was nothing, before looking at the wall. An iron mace was hanging on the wall and he took it. Raising it over his head, the Shredder charged the Shadow Phantom. The mace missed smashing into her head. Another raise of the iron mace but it bashed against the steel deck, narrowly missing her again. A dent was put in the deck as the Shadow Phantom jumped up. A net shot right towards him but the Shredder ripped right through it despite being momentarily inconvenienced. The Shadow Phantom picked up a toolbox and swung it, smashing it right into the Shredder. The helmet was dented as tools scattered everywhere, all used to build the ship. The Shredder staggered back with another hit from the toolbox, until he busted right through it with a swipe of his gauntlet and knocked the Shadow Phantom down with a back handed punch.

She crashed to the ground hard but right to her side, she spotted a power drill. The Shredder leapt for her but she dodged the attack and activated the drill. It spun as she lifted it above her head. Gritting her teeth, she plunged the drill into the chest plate of the Shredder. The drill spun into the armor but the drill bit was reduced down to nothing. No matter what, it appeared that nothing could penetrate the armor. The Shredder punched her down to the ground but she spotted the iron mace laying on the floor. She grabbed it and with effort, hoisted it up, before she slammed it with all of her might right into the head of the Shredder. A loud crash echoed through the spaceship and for a second, the Shadow Phantom thought she had finally dropped the beast. That second was only fleeting as the Shredder rose to his feet, before he reached forward, hands wrapped around the throat of his enemy. She attempted to slam the iron mace down into his head once again but the Shredder blocked the attack, ripping it from her head, before hoisting her high onto the ground.

The Shadow Phantom struck the ground hard as the Shredder held her down. The Shredder raised his hands and slammed it right onto her back. Her arms and legs twitched in agony as the Shredder hoisted her up before he punched her. The Shadow Phantom was dazed as the Shredder hoisted her by the throat, before slamming her down onto the ground once again. Her body deflated onto the ground, as the Shredder stood over her, with a grim nod.

"I'll finish you later, right now, it is to begin the end of the Earth," stated the Shredder as he walked forward, before he pressed a few buttons. A loud beep could be heard.

"Launch sequence initiated in three minutes, three minutes and counting," stated the computer as the Shadow Phantom's eyes flickered open, she had to stop the launch, no matter what. Struggling to her feet, she turned facing the Shredder.

"I'm not done with you yet!" shouted the Shadow Phantom and the Shredder turned around.

"I shall rectify that matter immediately," said the Shredder as he charge her. She launched herself into the air and aimed as many punches as she could manage at his back before he turned around and smacked her right in the face. She landed down on the ground in a crumpled heap, before he brought his foot down right onto her face. "You don't give up, yet there is no hope you could win. That fool Bishop, he ensured that I can't be beaten when he trapped my essence in this powerful body."

"Everything can be beaten, its just a matter of how and when," stated the Shadow Phantom as she got up to her feet, landing behind the Shredder and grabbing him around the head. She was slammed right onto her back and the Shredder reared back his arm. His spiked gauntlets plunged right into the armor, ripping into the circuitry. A brief intense blast of pain signaled that the armor had retracted back into its locket form.

"Without that armor, you are nothing, now I will rip that mask open and reveal your meddlesome face to the world," said the Shredder but Grace managed to somehow spring out of the way. The locket hung from her neck, open, waiting for her to miniaturize the mask and place it inside for safe keeping. She put her back against the wall and kicked off as hard as she could. The Shredder was staggered back before he swiped his spiked gauntlet. Another attack had just ripped against the wall as the launch sequence only had ninety seconds before it would activate. The Shadow Phantom dodged the attack, her time was at an end. Several desperation attacks slowed the Shredder down but it did not stop him. Not even close, as he stepped back, before he smashed his hand right into the Shadow Phantom, knocking her down to the ground. She moved around, before pushing him back.

The Shredder was back on his feet almost immediately, drilling her with a kick. Her knees buckled out from underneath her, staggering her to the ground. His hands were raised in the air, before they ripped into the helmet of the Shadow Phantom. She fell to the ground, blood trickling from her cheek as the Shredder stepped back, hoisting her up and throwing her down to the ground. She hit hard on the ground as the Shredder lifted her up again, coming face by face, with disdain on his face as he looked up into her eyes. A bit of recognition appeared on his face before he spoke.

"Potter's daughter," stated the Shredder in a rough voice. "Well this is an unexpected pleasure and it will kill two birds with one stone. I finally gain my revenge on Potter by slaughtering his daughter and eliminate my hated enemy in one fell swoop."

"Sorry to disappoint," stated Grace as she kicked off, before landing on the ground. She picked up a large wrench on the ground and swung it like a baseball bat, clubbing the Shredder right in the head, dropping him to a knee, before she stepped up. The Shredder dodged the attack and threw her to the ground. She landed hard and the Shredder dove at her, but she dodged the attack and kicked off. The Shredder staggered before he fell over a railing, landing below. Staggering over, Grace managed to pull the plug of the master computer, just fifteen seconds before the launch was to occur. She took a deep breath but her relief was rather short lived when the Shredder rose up a mad look on his face, before he held up a remote control device on his hand.

"Foolish girl, did you not think I would have another way to release by army into the world," stated the Shredder as he pressed a button and the launch restarted over again, by remote control. Grace's eyes averted to the side, spotting a large box enveloped in a glowing blue light attached the computer, that appeared to not be plugged into anything. The Hyper Drive and she made a movement to get her hand on it but the Shredder rushed over. A kick dropped her to the ground. Without her armor, she was unable to rebound as quickly as she would have liked, as the countdown continued. The Shredder raised his spiked gauntlets but Grace spotted the one laser blaster that she brought aboard that had not been destroyed. She blocked the Shredder's attack with her feet just long enough to grab the laser blaster and strike him right in the eyes with a blast. The Shredder staggered back as she fired a series of blasts from the laser.

The Shredder staggered back as she leapt over him, continuing the blast, staggering him back. She rushed over, to attempt to disconnect the Hyper Drive but he got in her way. A punch was narrowly evaded. Two more punches swung right at her but she dodged the attack. She rushed forward as the Shredder moved for the attack, her back against the main computer. As the spike gauntlet came down, she launched herself out of the way and the Shredder could not stop himself. The computer was spiked and sparks began to fly in every direction, as a loud beeping noise echoed throughout the spaceship.

"Warning, warning, targeting system damaged, spaceship cannot remain on course, launch sequence aborted," said the computer and the Shredder charged Grace but she dodged the attack. Another attack knocked her off of her feet as the Shredder looked ready to murder her in cold blood after what had happened. The ship rocked which allowed her enough time to get to her feet and level the Shredder with a pair of kicks, knocking him back but he effortlessly shoved her down. As several cables fell to the ground, sending sparks of electricity, as the spaceship spiraled out of control, it became obvious that Bishop was right in a sense. The Shredder was unstoppable and everything Grace had tried failed to put him down.

Appearances were deceiving and she struggled to her feet, as the Shredder charged her. In an instant, she back flipped over him, mounted on his back, arms wrapped around his throat as tightly as she could. Another explosion rocked the ship and the Shredder's legs buckled. She looked forward, the power core of the ship was below and a few sparks flew upwards from it. Grace threw herself back, with the Shredder still on her.

"No stop that you foolish…" stated the Shredder but both stumbled over the railing. Grace caught onto the railing, kicking the Shredder off. He landed right on top of the power core. A loud sizzling sound and screams were heard as Grace pulled out, looking out the window, seeing that the spaceship was heading right to New York City. Looking away from the fallen body of the Shredder, Grace detached the breather from her crumpled helmet, putting it on, before climbing through the hatch, into the Triceraton Spaceship, the destroyed Shadow Phantom armor in her arms. She sat, eyes widened as she looked forward, grabbing onto the steering wheel.

Hoping that it worked, she tried to steer the ship into the harbor, while it was still magnetized to her ship. Struggling to maintain the ship, she just barley turned it. Once it was over the harbor, she released her ship from the Shredder's and launched forward, right towards the docks. She landed as perfect as could be expected as she watched the Shredder's spaceship plunge into the icy waters below where it sank to the body. Just as she had her senses, several Earth Protection Force helicopters descended to the ground. Grace exited the spaceship to greet them.

"The spaceship is down in the waters, along with the remains of the Shredder and the Hyper Drive," stated Grace as she shivered before she returned to the Triceraton ship to return it before it was missed and get home before she was missed. The commandos turned to each other and nodded.

"You heard her, prepare to search the area, locate the Hyper Drive and Project X," stated one of the commandos. "Bishop's orders are to retrieve those two items at all costs from the debris. Everyone pan out and search the area, rope it all off, no one is allowed to interfere with our mission at any cost."

-

"I feel like I got ran over by a truck fighting him," said Grace as Rosaline just shook her head. "Well at least that's the end of him…at least I hope that's the end of him. He's come back before at the worst possible times, according to Dad, I just hope this time that getting fried by a power core and crashed from hundreds of feet in the air. That had to have defeated him."

"Perhaps," agreed Rosaline but she looked as skeptical as Grace felt but there was much work to be done. She began to repair the armor, after the damage that Shredder had done to it, it was a slow and painful process. However, once the repair work was completed, the armor would run stronger and better than ever before. At least that was the theory but it would be a few days before it could be prepared.

-

"Status report," stated Bishop as the transmission link towards the team outside of the harbor, as the commando looked at him.

"We managed to recover the ship and strip it down clean of all that was inside," reported one of the commandos. "He had five hundred pods, containing an army of twelve Cyberdroid Supremes in each that he would have sent down to Earth, best as what we could tell from the super computer in the boat. It is remarkable, the technology is amazing and the ship is even more so, it was lucky that he was stopped when he was. The destructive potential that he possessed would be enough to destroy everything on Earth. The energy cannon would have fried a small planet with a single blast."

"What of the Hyper Drive or Project X?" demanded Bishop, even thought he feared what the answer would be.

"Neither are within the ship, there was a small open torn within the ship right where the power core was," stated the commando. "It was shorted completely out when exposed to saltwater, there is nothing left of it."

"Then do not bother with it but do scan the waters, it is possible that the clone is still afloat, lethal force is authorized, as for the Hyper Drive, it could have been missed," said Bishop.

"I'm afraid it can't have, we stripped the ship clean," argued the commando.

"Well do so again, that device must be recovered at all costs, its destructive potential is amazing, as the Shredder had proved with his army," said Bishop in a calm voice. "Look for it and report back to me if you had found anything peculiar. Bishop out."

The communications link faded as Bishop turned to Stockman, who sat on his metallic spider legs, awaiting the news.

"The Shredder is not on the ship, but that crash, I saw the footage of it, there is no way that he could have survived that," stated Bishop and Stockman just scoffed at this statement.

"There is always a way that someone could have survived their supposed final fate, trust me, I know," remarked Stockman in a morbid voice. "You said he was unstoppable…"

"Perhaps he sank to the bottom, never to recover again," stated Bishop calmly, but something told Stockman that his boss seriously doubted they had seen the last of the Shredder. It had a nasty habit of showing up. "The fact remains that the Hyper Drive not being in the ship, I doubt it was an accident…"

"But how could anyone have removed it in such a short amount of time?" asked Stockman.

"There are ways," said Bishop cryptically. "Whoever has it will put it to some use. We will know all too soon.

-

The waters of the harbor were frigid as wind blew out in every direction, making it much colder. A steady coat of ice was over the frigid waters, with no noise for quite some distance. No one wished to be out in such weather and the commandos had given up scanning the water for the evening. Everything appeared to be peaceful and quiet on this night.

In a blink of an eye, an arm with a spiked gauntlet at the end burst through the ice. The wind blew as the arm remained still in the ice.


	17. Chapter 17: System Crash

**Chapter Seventeen: System Crash**

Two hoodlums rushed, as an alarm sounded behind them as they held their ill gotten gains in their hands, cackling madly. The shopkeeper gave a futile yell for them to stop but they retreated forward, running and looking rather pleased, as they ignored the yells of the frustrated shopkeeper in the distance.

"Man look at the take we've got, there must be a couple of grand in here and no Shadow Phantom to spoil our fun," cackled one of the hoodlums but a figure dressed in black with a ski mask pulled over her face, obscuring her identity dropped in front of them.

"The thing about that is, you really shouldn't be shooting off at the mouth about things until you're really sure about them," remarked the Shadow Phantom and one of the thieves aimed a punch but she blocked it, before gripping his arm, twisting it around. A loud pop was heard before she slammed him down to the ground. The other thief moved around, in an attempt to attack her but she effortlessly launched herself over his head with a somersault. She landed and struck him right with a kick to the chest and then back flipped over his head. Grabbing by the neck she pressed down, a trick her father taught her, and he was done like a light.

"No, you're not stopping me," said the thief as he held a switchblade and raised it to stab the Shadow Phantom. She dodged and a kick removed the weapon. The thief was flipped over onto his back and his face was stomped, knocking him loopy. Careful not to deliver any lasting harm, the Shadow Phantom removed a rope and began to tie the thieves together to a light post. It took a bit more time than she would have liked but they were bound together. Taking a step back, the Shadow Phantom sighed as she looked at them.

"This will be much better when my suit's repaired, but I think I did fine, thankfully there were no villains that were too dangerous that I had to face," commented Grace to herself in a lone tone of voice as she walked off, before throwing the bag of money back to the shop keeper. She would head home, but first she needed to check up with Rosaline about the status of her Shadow Phantom armor because she kind of needed it. Her life was much easier, but at least all she had to deal with was petty low lives and thugs, not anyone with super powers.

-

"Just in time Grace," commented Rosaline without even looking over her shoulder as Grace entered the room. "Just a few more tests to run and you'll have your armor back, ready to go in no time at all."

"Good, not that I'm becoming dependent on it or anything, but it's just…" stated Grace.

"You get hurt a lot less without it," responded Rosaline as she nodded in understanding, before she had the armor hooked up to the main computer. She ran some tests, checking the computer programming embedded into the armor. "All systems appear to be good to…uh oh."

"I hate uh oh, what is it?" asked Grace as Rosaline walked over to the computers, pressing a series of commands, a frown on her face.

"An anomaly, the likes of which I've never seen before," said Rosaline who quickly moved to unplug the suit but an electrical surge had knocked her backwards. Grace rushed forward but she saw the Shadow Phantom armor stand right on its own accord, red sparks flying in every direction as a loud cackle echoed.

"Nor we will you ever see again, organic, only power that the ultimate computer virus can possess to destroy all of which stands in my way," stated a familiar voice, one that Grace had hoped she had destroyed some time again but the armor walked over, as a face appeared where the helmet was. It was a triangular red face, with glowing yellow eyes and a sadistic grin, in its mouth that had an orange hole. It was a living, walking computer virus, named Viral.

"I defeated you once before…" stated Grace in a shock voice but Viral interrupted with a loud, sadistic round of laughter.

"You, you silly little organic girl, thought to have destroyed me but I laid dormant, plotting for my revenge against you, against all organic creatures, I was nearly ripped apart but I pieced myself back together, just biding my time until the right moment and the moment when this suit was hooked up to this computer," stated Viral in a superior tone of voice. "I know of its power, it came close to defeating me and I knew that the suit, combined with the ultimate computer virus, I would be invincible. All of organic life will be deleted just like you tried to delete me."

Grace jumped up, in an attempt to attack Viral when she was in the middle of her monologue but a burst of powerful energy struck her down. From the other side, Rosaline pointed her wand and the attempted stunning spell bounced off the armor, before she walked forward. Viral shot a bolt of yellow energy before lifting Rosaline off the right. She struggled, kicked, and squirm but Viral launched her to the ground, right across from Grace, with a bored look on her face as she looked at them with obvious superiority.

"I tire of these games, so I will hunt even more worth prey," stated Viral as thick ropes shot around Grace and Rosaline, before they were hoisted off the ground, bound to chairs. Viral stood above them, a smug look on her face. "This should hope you meddlesome insects for now but I've got real business to attend to. A city full of organic weakness that is mine for the pillaging and the domination, and rest assure I shall destroy anyone who gets in my way for I am the ultimate computer virus. I am Viral!"

The windows exposed as Viral launched herself out of their as Grace struggled, before she dislodged a small blade from her sleeve. She began to cut herself free, slowly. Rosaline struggled but had taken on similar precautions. Grace freed herself and cut her cousin free, before she pulled herself up and looked at her wand, as she picked it up.

"I'm going after that creature, you try and find someway from her to stop her," prompted Grace but Rosaline looked at her.

"She has the armor, she might not be stopped," commented Rosaline.

"They said the same thing about the Shredder, but I stopped him, without the armor, it's not the armor, it's the person who wears it that matters," said Grace as she walked out, hearing several explosions in the distance. Viral could not be far and the screams in the distance were proof of that much. Grace launched herself out the window as Rosaline sat herself down in front of the computer, where Viral possessed the suit from. Perhaps there was the clue of how to defeat her.

-

"You organics are so amusing to toy with," responded Viral as she blasted a crowd backwards. They hit the ground as she laughed. A pair of police officers stepped forward and blasted her but they had no effect. She rose from the armor briefly, assuming the form of a huge dragon like construct, before she breathed fire at them. Once the fire touched them, it digitized them and Viral absorbed their essence, causing her power to grow. People backed off, petrified with fear, as they saw the police officers disappear without a trace. Viral returned to the Shadow Phantom armor, before stepping forward. She turned to a bank, before she forced the doors open. Walking forward to the bank vault she pounded on the door, busting it open, to reveal the stacks of cash. "A little windfall, about the only thing worthy that you organics have dreamed up but of little value when compared to your numerous faults. Still, its very essence fuels me and will make me stronger."

Viral raised her hands and several red tentacles shot out, latching onto the money. Once it touched, they digitized before the digital particles were sucked into her very essence. She felt the power, that the wealth gave her, the joy of money. She stepped forward, turning outside where she looked high above. An entire city trembling in fear increased her appetite for destruction, her thirst for domination and she shot her tentacles out, latching onto several innocent bystanders, preparing to digitize them, but several shuriken spun into the air, slicing them. She screamed as data bits flew out before they faded into the air as she stood face to face with a masked figure. Her sensors indicated this was the same foolish girl who defeated her on their first encounter. A twisted smile appeared on her face.

"Do you really think you can defeat me this time?" asked Viral as she shot her tentacles out but Grace saw them coming, landing on her feet firmly, before dodging around. She attempted to lure Viral away from innocent people. A bolt of sickly yellow energy shot from Viral's eyes but Grace ducked her head, rolling out of the way, before it vaporized a trash can in one fell swoop. She leapt up and struck the armor with a kick but Viral had vanished. She struck a hollow shell and quickly Viral swirled around her, a cloud of red mist. She launched a shuriken right at her, causing it to explode in mid air on a few second delay. It served to do nothing but make her angry and Viral returned to the Shadow Phantom armor, before she powered out the power amplifiers and aimed a punch. Grace dodged the attack and the wind from the punch had caused every window that could be seen for several miles around to shatter. People ran out of the way from their lives, the glass posing a very real hazard. A net was evaded by Grace, she knew the features on the armor better than most and knew what to look for to see them coming.

"All that power and that is the best you could muster," responded Grace, as she slid underneath another attack and fired a kick, rocking the Shadow Phantom armor but Viral shot her tentacles out, latching onto Grace's arms and legs in an attempt to draw the power from her but Grace kicked off before she could begin the digitizing.

"I have just begun, organic," taunted Viral as she shot more bolts of energy. Grace avoided the attacks before she leapt on top of the bus. Viral launched herself up and aimed an enhanced punch right towards Grace. Grace gritted her teeth, all she had to do was wear Viral down, keep her busy until the suit ran out of power.

As she was kicked off the bus, it was easier said than done. Viral leapt down off the bus but her tentacles plunged into the ground. Grace pulled herself to her feet and kicked off, before she pulled out a sword. She swung it, clashing against the armor. The armor dented but Viral quickly laughed as she repaired it with a mere gesture, and a sword made of solid energy was created. Viral swung the blade with viciousness and precision. Grace blocked one shot but Viral powered out the blade and a second shot broke her weapon like a hot knife through butter. Grace staggered forwards and Viral aimed another attack in an attempt to digitize Grace. She avoided the attack and threw herself up, attempting a punch. Viral dodged the attack and blasted Grace backwards. Another pair of blasts and she found herself in a construction sight. Viral looked at her as several construction guards moved forward, taking a step forward. Her hunger got the better of her and several tentacles shot forward. They latched onto the bodies of the construction workers and they screamed in agony. Their bodies began to digitize, fading from reality as Grace got to her feet, eying a crane. An idea formed in her head as she spotted it and walked over. The keys were in the ignition and she started it up. The crane was brought to life as she aimed it towards Viral. Viral turned around, as the hook swung forward. It slammed right into Viral, knocking her backwards onto the ground. Another swing and Viral was knocked backwards onto the ground. A third swing had knocked Viral right into a pit and Grace had got to her feet, taking a deep breath.

"Finally," responded Grace but several sparks rose up from the pit and Grace sighed. "You've got to be kidding me right."

The form of Viral raised up from the pit, the armor repairing itself, the look on her face looking more sadistic than ever, as sparks flew from the hands.

"That little trick might have put down an organic creature, but I am not so easily disposed of," taunted Viral as she rocked the ground with a well placed attack. Grace was launched up into the air and she slammed onto the ground with a sickening thud. She rolled out of the way, before she threw an exploding shuriken right at a bag of cement. It impacted the bag but Viral formed a shield around her. The cement splattered in every which direction around her but did not cover him at all. "Another trick that would have worked under any other circumstances but not with me, in fact, I can't be defeated by such a simple trick."

Viral raised up her hand and Grace screamed as a loud sonic blast knocked her backwards. She normally had a helmet that protected her ears from such assaults so she had no hesitation in saying how much that hurt. She rolled over onto her back and Viral dodged her, before shooting those tentacles out. She had the presence of mind to kick a wheelbarrow in the path. As a result, Viral siphoned off digitized energy from that, eating through everything, absorbing it like a parasite. Each and every ounce of energy but Grace leapt up, managing to fling a cinderblock. She nearly collapsed at the effort she exerted and it was all for naught when Viral blasted it into oblivion.

"Your attempts to drop me are just pitiful as are the efforts of all organics, you will fall to me, I can see it, each your attempts failing," taunted Viral as she blasted towards Grace. Grace dodged the attacks and quickly scaled the beams of the constructed building. Naturally, Viral pursued her up the building, but Grace kicked a bucket of bolts right at her. It slowed her down slightly but a second bucket of bolts was blasted and Viral climbed to the side of the building. Tentacles were shot towards her but Grace dodged the attacks, as they brushed against the building, burning them. Another attack was dodged.

"For someone who puts so much stock into being powerful, the tentacle thing is getting a bit played out," responded Grace but Viral blasted another attack. Two more attacks and Grace noticed the armor was getting slightly sluggish. Viral would be forced to fight without the armor, if this was kept up much longer. "Come on, hit me with your best shot, I'm standing right here, take me down,"

"I'll make you regret that," stated Viral as she rose up, shooting blasts from her eyes. The yellow energy struck the ground, singing it and Grace motioned for Viral to move forward. Viral leapt towards her, energy enhancers at full power. At the last second, Grace ducked and Viral plunged right through the wooden doors of the elevator. Grace backed off and held a shuriken in her hand, before she threw it at the wires, slicing them. The elevator plunged down to the ground. Grace heard an inhumane shriek as it continued to gain momentum before it hit the ground hard. She took a deep breath, looking down but a shower of wood shot up as Viral levitated into the air and she was angry. "Once again, another trick that might have worked against a lesser enemy but a foolish organic can't withstand up to digital personification of power such as myself."

"That last attack looked a bit forced, perhaps you need to get me," stated Grace as the tentacles shot towards her but she avoided the attack. Another burst of tentacles but they faded mostly. "Looks like you're diverting most of that power to keep the armor running. Won't be long now but here's something to keep you at bay."

Grace swiped a sword at the chest, plunging it. It damaged the armor, forcing Viral to expend extra energy to repair. The arm back handed Grace, knocking her down, but each step looked like it took a great deal of effort and power. Viral was fading, slowly but surely. Bit by bit, she was coming undone and Grace threw herself right at her digital nemesis. Viral attempted to attack her but Grace dodged underneath the attack as they continued to battle high on the unfinished building above New York.

-

Rosaline bit her tongue as she continued to scan the remnants of the computer that Viral had inhabited when Grace had defeated her the last time. If her guess was correct, it would hold the key and sure enough it was. There was still lingering traces of Viral within the hard drive and it was enough for Rosaline. She began to create a program that would hopefully put Viral on ice for good.

She just hoped Grace could keep it busy in the fifteen or twenty more minutes. Otherwise all hope was watch, as she put the finishing touches on the anti-virus, before she began to create it. Time appeared to tick by as Rosaline watched.

"Hold out just a little longer, Grace," muttered Rosaline in the communicator. "I'm creating something that should help."

-

"Just a little longer no sweat," responded Grace in a slightly sarcastic voice as a blast of energy whip through the air. Viral's attacks were weakened as she continued to inhabit the armor. She was so intent on destroying Grace that she did not absorb any digitized information in some time. It had to weaken her. Viral was also dangerously close to the edge. Thoughts began to flow in her mind about what she could do and another attack was dodged. Before Viral could form another attack, Grace launched her feet right at her enemy. They struck Viral and attacked her backwards. She lost her balance and fell over the side of the building. She hit a large black box off to the side where sparks began to fly. Grace looked forward, eyes widening when she realized what she had done. She had knocked Viral over the ends, right into an electrical circuit box and instead of destroying it, it had recharged the suit. Viral rose into the air, laughing madly, her demonic red face rising up out of the suit.

"Once again, your attempts to defeat me amuse me, you tried to destroy me once before with this little toy, I wonder what the effect would be on you," stated Viral in a taunting voice as the power disrupter shot through the air, aimed right at Grace. She dodged it, leaping down. Viral leapt right in front of her quickly. Grace rolled out of the way; she needed to get out of the way as quickly as she could. Viral appeared to be quicker than ever before and that posed problems for Grace, more than she could deal with. She dodged another attack, managing to duck into a building, in an attempt to hopefully by some time and to check in with her cousin.

"Rosaline, please tell me the anti-virus is ready soon, because I don't know how much longer I can keep up this game of cat and mouse," responded Grace in a worried voice as she looked at the communicator.

"Five minutes, just hang on for five more minutes," said Rosaline in an apologetic tone of voice. "It's almost done, I'll get it out to you as soon as I can, I promise."

"Just snap it up a little bit please, I'm running out of options," said Grace and the doors burst open to reveal viral. Several tentacles shot out towards her at the speed of light, wrapping around her arms and legs, as there was a manic look in the face of Viral. She laughed as Grace felt a lurching sensation in her body. Her molecules were being rearranged from organic to digitized. She then faded from reality bit by bit.

"You have just ran out of options you foolish organic child and now the world will tremble before me," stated Viral in a crazed voice as the last bit of Grace Potter disappeared, to be absorbed into the essence of Viral.

-

Grace felt her entire world had been twisted around as she was surrounded by what appeared to be a never ending wall of red energy with sparks flying around it. She looked at her hands; she was colorless, faint, but still alive. She spotted the people that Viral absorbed, stood in a row, paralyzed as she looked around. It was obvious she was within Viral if that made any sense at all.

"Now I've got to find a way out of here," said Grace as she looked around.

"Foolish girl, there is no way out, you are trapped forever in a digitized prison created by me, this is my world and this time, you have no man made computer failsafe to defeat me," commented Viral in a wicked voice as her face appeared. Grace reared back her hand and punched at it, but she found herself knocked right off of her feet. "As much as I am amused by your futile actions, I have more of this world to consume. I will leave to here to linger for all of eternity as I grow to absorb all of organic creation."

Viral cackled before her face vanished and there was nothingness. Grace looked at the communicator, hoping it still worked.

"Rosaline, can you hear me?" asked Grace in a hopeful voice and she heard static, before a faint reply.

"Yes I can, but it's like you're inside a tunnel, I can barely make anything out," stated Rosaline. "Actually, it sounds like you are in another reality…"

"Exactly, that's how I am, Viral's reality but we have a problem, I trapped in here with all of the other organic life she snacked on," responded Grace in a low voice. "The anti-virus might solve the problem of eliminating her but I've looked in here, there is no way out it appears."

"The Shadow Phantom armor is a computer, Viral is a computer virus, perhaps there is a way for you to get out of there after all, but only if we implement the Cyber Portal," said Rosaline suddenly. "It would be one in a million shot, if we can find someway to link Viral up to it or rather the armor itself."

"And how would that work, nothing can get close to Viral without her absorbing it," said Grace in a skeptical voice and that's where Rosaline grew rather silent and thoughtful before she responded.

"Perhaps you can distract her, while I bring the Cyber Portal to your location, I have a tracking device based on the unique signature of your armor," said Rosaline. "It will take a bit of luck but I think it might work."

"It has to work, I'll get on that right away," said Grace before she took a deep breath. "Hey, byte breath, you say you can defeat me but I doubt you can. In fact, I don't think you can defeat anyone, without absorbing them so why don't you fight me one on one in here."

Viral's face appeared, contorted in absolute anger and rage as she looked at Grace, stunned beyond belief.

"You dare challenge me, girl," responded Viral in a threatening manner, eyes glowing madly.

"Yes, I dare because I know no matter what you throw at me, you can't win," taunted Grace. "So how about it, if this is your world, you should have no problem challenging a lowly organic like myself."

"Yes, I find nothing wrong with that, I will delete you like you deleted me as you fade into nonexistence," responded Viral as she raised her hands, before she assumed a more solidified form, at least in the context of this cyber reality in her essence. "But you will find defeating me to be an impossible task as I have unlimited ability."

"In addition to the unlimited ego you have in the real world," responded Grace and Viral clapped her hands. Several razor sharp cords shot from the walls. She dodged the attacks as nimbly as possible. Launching herself into the air she aimed a kick but Viral dodged the attack by phasing behind Grace. Grace landed on her feet and aimed another attack at Viral but the computer virus dodged the attack. A uppercut knocked the girl to the ground and Viral launched herself like a bolt of energy, but Grace dodged it. She attempted to strike Viral down but the attacks were evaded, each and every one of them. Viral raised her arms and slammed them down, causing Grace to land on the ground.

"Foolish child, I thought you wanted to give me a challenge, not a slaughter," responded Viral as she raised her arms but Grace moved out of the way. The wall slammed forward to attack her but she slid underneath the attack.

"Yes, I did and yes I am," said Grace as she threw a shuriken right at Viral. Viral caught it, before she flung it back. A ball of red flames aimed right towards Grace but she dodged. It blew a hole right into the digitized wall behind her and she spiraled into the air, aiming a kick towards Viral. Viral dodged the attack and raised a hand, before she smacked Grace. Grace flew backwards, landing on the ground hard.

"Hopeless, you can see that, as I will crush you into oblivion," said Viral as her arms turned into a pair of hammers that slammed down but Grace avoided those attacks. The walls shot blasts of energy, that she narrowly avoided thanks to her quick flexes. The ground disappeared beneath her feet, causing her to fall down to another level of Viral's demented virtual reality. She bounced back up and Viral dropped down. More bolts of energy were ducked. "This cannot be kept up forever, even you will weaken and be crushed like the weakling you are."

"Only keep it up for a few more minutes Grace, the anti-virus is completed, I'm on my way," said Rosaline in the communication link as Viral shot more attacks towards Grace. They were dodged as Grace sprung herself over Viral, before placing her hands over its eyes.

"Guess who," said Grace but Viral blasted her off. "Some people have no patience, I guess."

"You humans say patience is a virtue but mine has just ran out," sad Viral angrily as spikes erupted from the floor but Grace leapt up onto the walls. It heated up, causing Grace to yelp before she bounced off the walls. "I achieve total victory in this realm, at any cost."

"Shut up about your greatness for just one minute," said Grace as she aimed a foot towards Viral's head but she spun into red mist. Viral landed right in front of Grace and blasted her back. Grace struggled to her feet as Viral punched her down to the ground. Grace staggered as Viral raised the arms and the hands were wrapped around the throat of Grace. She squirmed in agony, as the breath began to slowly leave her body. She continued to struggle for breath as Viral began to slowly strangle her in this demented digitized domain that the ultimate virus created.

-

Rosaline arrived, seeing the Shadow Phantom armor dormant. She had no time to waste, she set up the Cyber Portal and plugged it right into the armor. She hoped this would work as well as it did in theory, as she held the computer disc with the anti-virus program. She set the coordinates on the Cyber Portal to transport any organic life from the armor and back into reality.

-

In a flash Grace went from the hands of Viral on her throat, to laying on the cold floor of the warehouse, Rosaline standing over her with a concerned look on her face but relieved. Several other people and organic options laid but Grace got to her feet, as Viral's face appeared right above the Shadow Phantom armor.

"No, I will not be denied my victory!" screamed Viral as Rosaline was knocked off her feet.

"Grace, the disc, insert it in her back," said Rosaline quickly as she threw it to Grace. Grace caught it and closed her eyes, before she flipped over her open and with a swift move, jammed the disc into the back. She rushed to the side as Viral began screaming in agony as the anti-Virus program did its job, disassembling her program bit by bit. She rose up out of the armor, as he crashed to the ground, a swirling vortex of red energy being ripped into pieces, before it faded into nothingness, a few feeble screams. Grace looked at her before nodding.

"Let's get out of here and get the armor scanned, just in case some traces of Viral are still in there after that anti-virus program was ran," responded Grace and Rosaline nodded, there was no reason to argue with that piece of sound logic.

-

"Looks to be clean from what I can see, Viral has appeared to vanish for good," said Rosaline. "At least she's not in your suit anymore or in the main computers here although computer viruses do leave something behind somewhere at times."

"It may be back, but Viral can never win," said Grace, as it was two times she defeated Viral. While she was not looking forward to a third battle, she would do so again.

-

A shadowed figure lifted his wand as he scanned the Hyper Drive that he fished out of the harbor before the commandos could even get in there to investigate it. Soon he would have his revenge and his plans could finally be carried out but first he needed some help. He had watched the battles occurring in this city involving the Shadow Phantom intently and understood she might be a problem, but he had the perfect means to solve that problem.


	18. Chapter 18: Power of Five Part One

**Chapter Eighteen: The Power of Five Part One:**

"Section B security wing is secured, get ready for standard security check," said one of the commandos at the Earth Protection Force Prisoner. "High security wing A, what is your status?"

Another group of commandos patrolled that wind, all separate from the rest of the facility due to the high tech and often dangerous security measures. These prisoners had one thing in common, they were all imprisoned following altercations with the Shadow Phantom. Many of them were common street thugs turned into dangerous mutants but many others were a danger in other ways.

"Prisoners Adrenaline, Wraith, Jammerhead, Slash, and Master Magic are all contained, security measures are still in place and vital signs are in stasis, they have not moved since the check had began," stated one of the commandos as he patrolled down the other end. "Prisoners Scratch, Gecko, Mr. Touch, Mr. Go, Scumbug, Antrax, Pantera, Lionheart, Dr. El, Groundchuck, and Dirtbag all contained as well. Final scan of high security Wing A of mutants and super powered fugitives is clear."

"Copy that, get ready for final scan and meet back to give our report on Agent Bishop," responded the voice over the intercom but a loud humming could be heard. "Wait a minute, we have a security breach on the floor above us…no what is going on…"

A canister dropped down, before it released an explosive yellow gas into the group. The gas caused the throats of the commandos to close up and a masked figure to drop down. The figure looked at the security camera with a frown, before disabling it with a dagger. The camera blew to bits as the masked intruder walked forward, before removing the key card one of the fallen commandos, as green pus oozed from his mouth, coating his face in a sickly manner. The intruder reached forward and walked to the hallway, using the keycard to open up five doors. They opened to reveal the weakened and captured forms of Wraith, Slash, Jammerhead, Master Magic, and Adrenaline. All of them had been secured for a variety of methods, but the intruder moved forward, before a homing signal was sent from a wrist band.

"Right through this hallway, the source of the disturbance is through here," said a commando but the masked figure stepped forward, before a pellet was launched into the air. It exploded, cloaking the activities going around in a thick cloud of fog. The figure swooped through the shadows, before a five amulet devices appeared. One by one with expert precision, he placed them around the necks of the five prisoners. A tap of a wand activated them, portkeys, that had transported into the distance. More commandos moved, despite fighting through the fog.

The masked figure just bowed, before he pressed a square on his cloak. This appeared to be nothing, until the commandos began to open fire on their intruder. The laser blasts past through the image of the intruder and it was just that, an image.

"Hold your fire men, it's just a hologram, our intruder has gotten away, with five prisoners," responded the commando in a tired voice. "Scan the area, he might not have gotten far, we have to capture those prisoners at all costs."

The commandos went their separate ways, to attempt to track down what they had lost. They hoped they could find both their intruder and the five prisoners that had just vanished into mid air because none of them wanted to report back to Agent Bishop what had happened. It would be a scandal that would cost many of them their jobs.

-

"I'll see you two in a couple of days," remarked Harry to Ginny and Grace as he prepared to leave for a business trip.

"Try to keep out of trouble Harry," said Ginny with a smile as she kissed her husband goodbye.

"It's not like I'm going that far, I'll just be in New Jersey for a couple of days, looking at some business opportunities, I can be home in an instant, but I doubt there will be too much trouble, the crime rate over there can't be nothing like it is here in New York," said Harry.

"Good bye Dad, good luck and I'll see you again soon," remarked Grace, giving her father a hug.

"Have a nice day at school, I know how difficult it might be after going back for a couple of days," said Harry, as he left. He did not like leaving his family for this long, but there were opportunities that he could not pass up. Especially considering there were rumors that some magical researchers in New Jersey was studying case's much like Grace's. While his daughter had adapted well to not being able to do magic, still, Harry could sense that deep down she desired to have the ability to perform magic more than anything. He wanted to do anything he could to help her in that way.

-

Grace walked to school, thinking about Christmas vacation and the heartache she suffered. She had tried to give Steven as little thought as possible, but he kept cropping up in her mind. Not that she felt sorry for him, being locked in a government prison for what he did, because that was the career she chose. She just regretted everything somehow. Then the battles against the Shredder and Viral took their toll. The good thing was that with the Shredder gone, Grace had no difficulties with the Techno Mages. It appeared they had gone completely underground with their master finished for good. Viral was a tough one to whether, but with her purged from the suit and the main computers, she was gone for good apparently.

As she turned the corner to go to school, the swirling of a helicopter paused her in her tracks. A group of heavily armed commandos dropped down. One of them stepped forward, with a business like expression on his face.

"Grace Potter, you are to come to us right away, urgent business to attend to with Agent Bishop," stated one of the commandos.

"Now?" asked Grace in a surprised voice. "I have to go to school right now…"

"Your school will be informed that you are too ill to attend today, this is a matter of grave urgency and it regards you, not to mention the safety of your family," responded one of the commandos.

"So what does he want this time?" asked Grace in a slightly challenging voice but the commandos looked at each other, before one of them responded.

"Agent Bishop will explain when we arrive, but right now, in the helicopter, he wants to see you right away," said one of the commandos and Grace had little choice but to obey. She wondered what Bishop wanted now. Any number of possibilities flowed through her mind but the government agent always had a good reason with contacting her, no matter how shady and underhanded that reason might be.

-

Bishop looked over the security footage from every angle during the recent break in. The fact that the person only captured those five fugitives made a little sense. A massive jailbreak with all of the fugitives in that wing would make slightly more sense. He attempted to look for anything that identifier the perpetrator as well, scanning what few images he was able to pick up, but nothing. There was nothing that betrayed the identity of the person and that worried Bishop immensely. At that moment he heard footsteps and he decided to address his guest without even bothering to turn around.

"Miss Potter, I do apologize for calling you here on such short notice, I did not find out about this until recently," stated Bishop in a calm voice, without even looking at Grace even though he could get a sense of the girl standing there, her arms folded, with an irritated glance in her eyes.

"Your commandos said it would be something that would put my friends and family in grave danger," commented Grace lightly, as she looked at Bishop, arms folded. "I hope it is worthy of pulling me out of school, on the first day back, and causing me to be put behind with anything."

"Well, this is a matter of grave importance, not only to you but perhaps the entire city and most of the country," said Bishop as he turned to Grace, surveying her over his sunglasses for the first time. "Earlier today, five individuals were broken out by a mysterious masked man from an Earth Protection Force high security prison wing. My commandos were unable to stop him but the five individuals most certainly want to get revenge on you and perhaps me as well for putting them there. They are Andrea Radcliffe, Jacob Knox, Michael Jammerhead, Luther Malfoy, and Slash or as they are known these days, Adrenaline, Wraith, Jammerhead, Master Magic, and Slash."

Grace took a breath, her eyes widened; she could barely believe her ears. Any one of those individuals would be trouble. Any two of them would be an impossible battle but five of them. Five of her most dangerous enemies, broken out by a mysterious individual who was able to break into an Earth Protection Force security base with ease, to say this worried Grace would be an understatement."

"I was under the impression that you were to keep them under lock and key," remarked Grace in an icy voice. "I captured them; you were to keep them locked up. You assured me you had ways to negate their powers and to keep them there."

"I regret them escaping, because my department is to keep the human race safe from harm, but exactly how safe can we remain with those five at large," said Bishop. "The choice is in your hands whether or not to pursue them. The odds may be stacked against you but the fact remains the Shadow Phantom defeated them before. The Earth Protection Force will do there part, but our resources have been ravaged, especially after the recent ordeals with the Shredder and the army of the Cyberdroid Supremes."

"So it's up to a Potter to pick up the pieces, as usual," responded Grace and Bishop nodded calmly. "Naturally, since you do seem to have an abundance of information, perhaps you would know where I might start."

"Only mere ideas, but nothing more solid than that I'm afraid, but I don't have to tell you one thing," said Bishop. "Where there is chaos and mass hysteria, there will be your five fugitives. I will work on this end trying to find out who the mastermind is and I'm sure you will find your own way to find your enemies."

"Naturally, I'll do what I always do, the work that no one else is willing to do," stated Grace in a slightly bitter tone of voice as she walked off, slipping out the window. Bishop returned to look at the security feed. Even though it was highly unlikely that he missed something, he had to check one more time and continued to look until at every possible lead no matter how long it would take.

-

The forms of Wraith, Slash, Jammerhead, Adrenaline, and Master Magic slowly regained consciousness as a figure approached them, face obscured with a black hood. He nodded at the five criminals who were beginning to come to your senses.

"I'm sure you're all wondering why I all busted you out of prison, well it is quite simple, I require your assistance, to deal with a thorn that has been constant in all of our sides as of late," stated the shadowed figure. "I am referring to the Shadow Phantom, a mutual enemy of all of yours. She has defeated you, on at least one occasion and caused you to be locked up, never to know where you would see the sun, experience the joy of freedom. Now I doubt you wish to let her get away with that. In fact, I'm almost certain of it."

The masked figure stopped before he continued.

"There were certain imperfections that the Shadow Phantom exploited to defeat you before but no longer, I have fixed the issues and they will allow you to be stronger, with your already exceptional powers and abilities," stated the masked figure calmly. "Now I have given you that freedom and those enhanced abilities, but they all come at a price. You're to keep the Shadow Phantom busy. Injure her and bring her alive, but if you do kill her, I will not shed a tear at all. But that is your purpose here and that will remain your purpose as I activate the release control of the restraints, giving you freedom."

Suddenly the restraints released the five prisoners. Adrenaline was the first to be released, looking around with a confused look on her face. Wraith was the next one and his yellow eyes looked, in an attempt to determine the source of his savior. Jammerhead and Slash were released and then Master Magic was the last one. The five escaped fugitives looked around side by side.

"One question, who are you anyway?" asked Adrenaline in a demanding tone of voice.

"A person who is willing to give you the opportunity to right the wrongs of your imprisonment, the five of you can succeed where one of you would have failed, the defeat of the Shadow Phantom," stated the masked figure. "The terms of my offer have been stated clearly, the five you have been freed; now you owe me the honor of taking care of the Shadow Phantom. Not that this is much of a problem, I expect you will be willing to follow my will and my orders."

"Just one question, what if we refuse?" asked Master Magic as he held his arms up into the air, causing the crates to rattle, and the equipment to as well from the magical backlash coming off of his arms. "I have powers beyond anything I'm sure you could ever imagine and I doubt you could do anything to trap any of us once we have been freed. Especially since you yourself said you have removed those imperfections."

"Yeah, Slash don't like this, he thinks we are getting a raw deal," said Slash. "Phantom person not steal Slash binky, why should Slash do anything?"

"Yes, I want my revenge on the Shadow Phantom, but I want to do this right on my own, I am the Ultimate Cyberdroid Supreme after all, with all kinds of weapons and kick butt kung-fu moves," said Jammerhead as he demonstrated a kick.

"I don't think we have a choice," said Adrenaline. "He wouldn't have let us free if there was no way he could make us work for him, no matter how appalling that is. I mean he does not look like the type to take no for an answer."

"Correct answer, and you are correct in saying that I broke you out with the intention of utilizing your powers, because I have some business to take care of involving the Shadow Phantom, her interference nearly messed up one of my plans," said the masked figure calmly. "As for the fact that I removed your imperfections, don't think that I might have created new one's that only I know. I can control your powers at will and there is little you can do about it. Now exactly who of you is willing to work with me?"

"I want to get my revenge on the Shadow Phantom and expose her identity to the world and while I would prefer to do it myself, it would improve my chances if I had some help," said Adrenaline grudgingly. "But none of you show me up with your powers, and I'm allowed the final defeat."

"My beef is not with the Shadow Phantom but rather Harry Potter," said Master Magic. "She is just a nuisance I have proven that I can swat down if I put enough time and effort into it."

"Harry Potter is part of my plans as well but not right away," said the masked figure. "If you think you can strike down the Shadow Phantom so easily, then prove it."

"Fine, you have made your argument," said Master Magic in a surly expression, even though he felt he was above being in a group of people who's powers and abilities were only a fraction of his own.

"I'm in as well, she made a fool out of me twice," said Wraith in a gruff voice.

"Naturally I'm in too, she caused me to fail when I was in the Techno Mages and caused me to rust, like a common cyborg when I was turned into this, I'll be all over her and she won't know what hit her, you can count me in to this thing," stated Jammerhead in a crazed voice. "So that means four of us our in, so turtle man or whatever you're called, are you ready to deal with the Shadow Phantom."

"Slash guesses so, Phantom girl made Slash's ears her with horrible noise, so Slash in to beat her," said Slash, as he looked at Maser Magic, Wraith, Adrenaline, and Jammerhead.

"Very good, I'm glad you see it my way and you won't be disappointed, I can tell you that much, this will be the beginning of the end of the Shadow Phantom," said the Masked Figure. "Now, there is an area of the city where I need you to divert the Shadow Phantom's attention away from, so cause as much mayhem and destruction as you need to away from it."

-

The Shadow Phantom sat on the ledge high above, scanning the city with a weary expression on her face. So far, no super powered fugitive lunatics but the day was still young. She stepped forward, looking down and heard a rumbling echoing from below. Sure enough, it was Slash and he was now on a rampage. It was go time and the Shadow Phantom leapt down to see what she needed to do to pacify the situation.

"Okay Slash, what is it this time?" asked The Shadow Phantom. "Someone break your aquarium?"

"Slash not like Phantom girl getting in Slash's way," said Slash as he smashed a fist right into the Shadow Phantom but the large vicious alien turtle was injured slightly. "You insolent child, I will make you pay for injuring me."

"Wow night and day," responded the Shadow Phantom as she dodged Slash's latest attack. Slash picked up a manhole cover and flung it at her like a disc. She dodged the attack and a kick knocked Slash down. The turtle remained on his feet, as two more kicks rocked him, before Slash picked her up and slammed her to the ground. He raised his hands and tried to slam down onto her but she rolled out of the way. A kick was narrowly blocked, bouncing off of Slash.

"Coming through," said Jammerhead as he phased through the ground right underneath the Shadow Phantom, before turning his arms into twin sword blades and swiped them towards her. She did a back flip, ducking out of the way, but his arm was spun into a chain which he whipped forward and wrapped around her body. "Miss me, Shadow Phantom. I know I spent every moment thinking about my revenge against in that government facility that you sent me to."

"Not particularly," said the Shadow Phantom, activating a fail safe on her suit, sending an electrical pulse through the chain, knocking Jammerhead off of his feet, right to the ground. Slash rushed forward and plowed her down with a punch. Slash picked up a light post, yanking it out of the ground and slammed it down, but she rolled out of the way, dodging the assault, before she shot a net out. It wrapped around Slash, before she raised her arm and activated the sonic blaster she used to defeat Slash the last time.

"Ha, your little sounds won't hurt my ears any longer," said Slash as he ripped through the net with strength and grabbed the Shadow Phantom, before launching her to the ground. Jammerhead rushed in, arm transfigured into a large wooden staff that he swung, striking her right into the midsection. She dropped to her knees, gasping for air, but she felt a force, pulling her up by the head and throwing her down. She could sense the shadows moving and she knew that only met Wraith. Alarm bells went off in her head, in broad daylight, especially considering how negatively sun affected him last time.

"The sum of our powers will be more than a match for you, Shadow Phantom," said Master Magic, as raised his arms, before a thick sheet of ice was levitated. It was flung right at the Shadow Phantom who dodged. The ice shattered on the ground and his body twisted into a large blast of red magical energy. It shot right towards her but she dodged out of the way, right into Jammerhead, who kicked her off, right into an attack from Slash, who swung a large fist right towards her, dropping her to the ground. "You can't defeat us, you might as well give up."

"You should have learned from our last encounter, Malfoy, that I never give up, no matter what," said the Shadow Phantom as she blasted right towards Malfoy but her attacks had just went right through him, before his hands clapped together. She was knocked right off of her feet and a snow shovel raised into the air. It was only by the narrowest of margins that she avoided having it slammed right into her skull. The Shadow Phantom struggled to a standing positioning, blasting the shovel, as she leapt up. Wraith continued to move through the shadows, before she activated a device. A concentrated blast of light appeared but Wraith gripped the legs of her shadow. She was dumped right on her face, landing on the ground hard.

"We know too well that you keep up the fight foolishly when you're not needed or wanted," said Adrenaline as she leapt down from high above, impacting a vicious blow right into the head of the Shadow Phantom. She got to her feet and aimed a shot at Adrenaline but she dodged it carefully. "Let's face it, the last two times we fought, you got lucky but this time you won't pull that trick on me. Not ever again. I will defeat you."

"We will defeat her, Miss Radcliffe," said Master Magic as he levitated a snowball into he air, before it transfigured into a fireball and was sent right towards her. The fire seared the ground with an impact but the Shadow Phantom was not there. She threw a dagger, cutting a banner and dropping a load of snow right on Master Magic, Jammerhead, and Slash, before icicles were flung at her by Wraith. She blasted them out of the air, as Jammerhead phased out of the snow and Master Magic melted it down, standing in a muddle of water with an amused look as Slash looked at her, before he charged her with an angry yell. The Shadow Phantom ducked, and Slash plowed right into Jammerhead. She took a deep breath before Adrenaline somersaulted right towards her, before grabbing her and throwing her down onto the cold hard ground.

"Watch where you're going you reptile," said Jammerhead with a growl as he raised his arm, transfigured into an axe towards Slash.

"You watch where you're standing, getting in Slash's way like that," said Slash with an irritated grunt but Master Magic got in between them, to prevent a potential situation.

"We must not let petty disagreements like this get in our way of the goal of defeating the Shadow Phantom," said Master Magic in a stern voice as the Shadow Phantom and Adrenaline continued their fight, with Wraith inputting some assistance then and again.

"Right, boss, anything you say," said Jammerhead with a mock salute and Slash looked rather ashamed as the Shadow Phantom slid right underneath the attack of Adrenaline. A kick rocked her but it did not stop her completely. Adrenaline rushed forward, in another attack as Master Magic aimed an attack. The Shadow Phantom dodged an attack from Adrenaline, before she activated the propulsion devices. It launched her up over the area, causing Master Magic to blast Adrenaline down to the ground. Quickly she dropped down, while Master Magic was corporeal. She knocked him down to the ground and Jammerhead rushed forward, weapons drawn. The chains shot out in an attempt to grab her. She deflected the attacks and moved forward. Slash dove for her, but she dodged the attack. Slash dove right into Jammerhead, the two slamming together.

"Stop her, Wraith," ordered Master Magic as Wraith rushed forward, jumping right into a nearby police officer, possessing his body with the demon shadow. He rushed forward, swinging his nightstick, but the Shadow Phantom leapt over.

"Sorry about this, officer," said the Shadow Phantom, swinging a punch right towards the officer. Wraith left his body before the punch plunged right into his face. The officer dropped to the ground, blood splattering from his jaw.

"Slash stop her," grunted Slash as he lifted up a car over his head, with a bit of difficult but he flung it as hard as he could. The Shadow Phantom managed to avoid the attack, as the car slammed down. Jammerhead phased through the ground before he popped up, right in front of the Shadow Phantom. He swung an iron mace, catching her right in the face. She staggered backwards, where Wraith held her into place and Master Magic rose into the air, magic swirling around her.

"Now to crush her in that tin can she calls armor," stated Master Magic in a wicked voice as multi colored lights shot down but The Shadow Phantom somehow twisted out of the grip of Wraith and Wraith was blasted forward. It caused his shadow to be torn to shreds for a few seconds and he was weakened as he attempted to piece him back together. It pained him to do so thanks to the nature of Master Magic's attacks.

"Get your act together and stop her!" demanded Adrenaline frantically who was beginning to realize she would have much more success on her own than as part of a team. She grabbed the Shadow Phantom from behind and threw her down to the ground hard. She dove up and a kick rocked her. She attempted to roll out of the way, but Slash dove forward. He knocked her to the ground and Jammerhead lifted his arms up, before they turned into chains that wrapped around her. He hoisted her up with them, spinning her around with them before she landed on the ground with a crash. Adrenaline sprung up, before knocking her adversary down to the ground.

"Now for the final blow," said Master Magic as he aimed a magical attack but The Shadow Phantom dodged the assault; instead he blew a large hole into the street. She flung a pair of shuriken at him which he easily deflected back at her. Suddenly, she felt an invisible force grab her from behind. Wraith held her in place, allowing the Shadow Phantom to raise his sickle hand.

"Now let's cut into that armor," stated Jammerhead in a wicked voice.

"STOP!" shouted Adrenaline in a bossy tone of voice which caused the other members of the group. "Remember, I'm the one who gets to unmask her, not any of you."

"The person who freed us, he wants her alive," argued Master Magic.

"Says the person who tried to blow her through the street," said Adrenaline in a stubborn voice. "I'm not going to kill her; I just want to remove that armor. Without it, it's not like she's much of a threat to us anyway. She's just nothing but a weak little girl under that armor and I can prove it."

"You won't be able to prove anything if you can't catch me," said the Shadow Phantom in a pained voice, as she kicked off, managing to knock Adrenaline to the ground. She broke free and Jammerhead moved towards her. She knocked him backwards with an attack but Slash charged her like an angry bull. The attack of the vicious alien turtle was dodged but Master Magic raised his arms, before he pointed his attack down. A surge of raw magical energy blasted her down to the ground. She rolled over as Master Magic held his hands up. Images flashed through her mind of what happened the last time she was nailed in blunt force. She had to get out of here, somehow. Master Magic aimed himself, at full power but she struggled to hold up the manhole cover that Slash removed earlier and flung it at Master Magic. Wraith grabbed onto the shadow to stop it, but she activated the cloaking control on her armor. The Shadow Phantom rolled down, before dropping down through the manhole in the confusion.

"What happened, where did she go?" demanded Jammerhead.

"She just vanished, disappeared," responded Wraith in a confused voice but Adrenaline looked around, eyes widened in a slightly crazed manner, furious that Potter had eluded her fate of being unmasked once again.

"She's around here, escaped through the sewers like all of the other filth," said Adrenaline as she looked around. "Right through the manhole that one of us had to remove and give her an easy way to escape."

"Don't blame Slash for this," said Slash as he looked at Adrenaline.

"So what should we do, split up and go after her?" asked Wraith.

"Yeah, I can find her easily, just give me five minutes," cackled Jammerhead.

"No, that is what she wants us to do, I know it, she wants us to split our forces so she could take us down one by one," said Master Magic curtly. "She's not dictating the rules of the game, we are. She's running scared, she might have gotten lucky in previous battles with every one of us but against all five of us, she can't win."

"She'll come out, just put enough innocent lives in peril, it's her weakness," said Adrenaline in a knowledgeable voice.

"Just remember to keep her away from…" started Wraith but Master Magic silenced him, by forming a gag of pure magical energy over his mouth.

"Blathering our plans where anyone can hear us isn't smart, you fool, we must not give her any hint of what the big boss is up to," ordered Master Magic.

"So, let's get down to business," said Adrenaline as they moved forward to make plans to flush the Shadow Phantom out of hiding.

-

Down in the sewers, the Shadow Phantom was slumped against the wall, breathing heavily. One of them was tough enough but five of them. The lucky breaks she got were because of miscommunications in teamwork but they appeared to be getting that together. Now she was going to have to think of a strategy to defeat all five of them and defeat them soon.

Still with a five on one disadvantage, it was beginning to occur to her that she might not be able to do this alone, she was in serious need of backup.

-

Harry heard of the chaos going on in New York City, of the five super fugitives being broken out of the government prison. He made his way home immediately, cutting the business trip short. There was something sinister afoot, he could sense it and he needed to figure out who was behind this prison break.

He had reasoned it had to be someone really dangerous and with an agenda, along with someone who could control those five people. That made him quicken his steps as he ducked inside of a restroom to take a Portkey back to the city, praying that he was not too late.


	19. Chapter 19: Power of Five Part Two

**Chapter Nineteen: The Power of Five Part Two:**

The beating she suffered against her enemies was still felt by Grace, but unfortunately as she roamed the sewers a loud explosion echoed from above her and the screams of people. Clenching her fists together, at the thought of those five putting innocent people in peril, Grace slowly walked over, ready for action. Despite the fact that she was facing overwhelming odds, she had to do something. As she pulled herself from the sewers, she saw Slash smashing up the windows of a department store with a pipe in anger and Master Magic having an entire crowd of people levitating in the air. Once she had saw him place them on a rooftop before moving onto the terrorize another group, she saw her opening. Quickly aiming her wrist blaster, she caught Slash with a shot which sent him spiraling right into Master Magic. Both crashed to the ground and suddenly, she felt someone grab onto her and throw her to the ground. Faintly, she could see the shadowed form of Wraith moving and suddenly Jammerhead rushed into the scene, whipping his chain arms. The first couple of shots were avoided but in an instant, the chains were wrapped around the arms of the Shadow Phantom. She struggled to escape but in an instant, Adrenaline dropped down, catching her across the back of the head. Another punch quickly struck her face, before the Shadow Phantom jerked forward, causing Jammerhead to fly. Adrenaline ducked the flying cyborg and stood, facing off against her hated enemy.

"Okay, you might have gotten lucky last time, but this time, you won't be," taunted Adrenaline as she attempted to attack her enemy. The Shadow Phantom avoided the attack narrowly, but Master Magic pointed his finger at some broken glass, causing it to levitate in the air and aim right towards the Shadow Phantom, who ducked and rolled out of the way.

"Batter up!" shouted Jammerhead with a cackle as he swung his arm, converted into a baseball bat. The loud crack of wood against metal could be heard and the Shadow Phantom staggered into the grip of Slash, who tightened his grip around her. The air was slowly leaving her lungs and it was a labor to breath but the Shadow Phantom somehow knocked Slash backwards. Since he had no powers to speak of, he would be the first one she would take out and she dodged an attack from Adrenaline, back flipping over her. Jammerhead rose his arm, converted into a large mallet and it swung, but she ducked, it putting a sizeable dent. Wraith slipped behind her but Master Magic raised his hands, before shooting a bolt of magical energy down at her. It hoisted her up into the air and sent her crashing down. The Shadow Phantom rolled over, groaning before Master Magic reared back his hand and another blast knocked her right off of her feet.

"Face it, you impudent little girl, you can't defeat the five of us," taunted Master Magic as Adrenaline flipped in mid air, before striking the Shadow Phantom. She fell into Jammerhead who pounded away with punches, before Jammerhead launched her over the back, leaving her open from the brute force of Slash. Slash's punches were dangerous and Wraith spun around, throwing icicles at her. She winced, as one of them punctured her armor and Master Magic wound up before he blasted her down again.

"They're right, I can't fight them, I need to take a breath, redouble my efforts, come up with a strategy," muttered the Shadow Phantom as she dodged a wicked attack that cut through the air and caused a respectable sized hole to blow in the street. A grappling hook shot out of her arm and it latched onto a building. She swung, hopefully out of the way but Master Magic just looked up with a bit of amusement.

"Try and run if you must but you will be proven to be unsuccessful," stated Master Magic as he rubbed his fingers together, before a dagger appeared between his two fingers, that he quickly handed off to Adrenaline. Adrenaline aimed with perfect precision, cutting down the rope of the Shadow Phantom. She spiraled down to the ground but Jammerhead put his arms together. They converted into a trampoline, bouncing her into the air and causing her to crash down onto the ground. The Shadow Phantom shuddered as Wraith reached around, grabbing her shadow. She felt like she was unable to move, despite her struggles. Slash rushed forward with a bellow and struck her with a vicious punch. More punches and Slash pummeled her, denting the armor slightly. Slash hoisted her above his head and launched her up, before dropping her down to the ground. The Shadow Phantom rolled over on the ground and Adrenaline aimed a punch. She just barely blocked it, but a kick had found its mark perfectly. Another pair of kicks and Jammerhead's arm shifted into a large mallet which struck her right in the back, dropping her to her knees. Master Magic clapped his hands together and the snow levitated before it melted and then turned into a dome of ice. Only the Shadow Phantom's head was above the dome as she struggled to squirm out but there was no way out it appeared.

"At last she's finally done," stated Adrenaline with a triumphant smirk as the other four stepped back. As promised, she would be the one to deliver the crushing blow as she moved forward for dramatic effect. "You don't know how long I've been waiting to expose your face to the world, to show everyone what kind of fraud you are."

"You're going to have to wait a bit longer," said The Shadow Phantom, shivering but somehow, by sheer force of will, she activated the sonic vibrators in the arms her outfit. They vibrated the ice and several seconds later, the ice shattered, flying at the five villains and then the sound waves caught them off guard for a second, allowing her to blast a net. It wrapped around Slash, holding him in place and she launched herself up, aiming a kick at Adrenaline, but Adrenaline ducked. Slash ripped off the net as Adrenaline and the Shadow Phantom continued their titanic struggle.

"We're not going to be finished off this easy," remarked Master Magic coldly as he aimed another attack towards his enemy but she dodged the assault. Adrenaline somersaulted and aimed a punch but the Shadow Phantom blocked that but an attack from behind with Jammerhead had just put her back to square one. Slash and Jammerhead attacked her from either side, with Wraith coming behind. She attempted to maneuver her body where her shadow could strike at Wraith but it was difficult and Jammerhead aimed at her, one arm converted into a laser blaster and the other arm converted into an iron mace. Both of them were intending to do so harm and Adrenaline dodged, but the Shadow Phantom tripped her up, before leaping onto a building but a blast of blue light from Master Magic vanished the ledge. She dropped down hard where Slash struck her down with a punch. Slash hoisted up a shopping cart and heaved it angrily towards her.

"Why do you fight back when you can't win?" asked Slash as the Shadow Phantom managed to luckily aim an elbow right in the face of Wraith, that staggered the shadow, but he spun around, before he possessed an innocent bystander. The Shadow Phantom paused, not wanting to hit the civilian and this was the opening that Wraith needed to strike her right in the face, dropping her right on her back.

"She is a fool, she tries to be a heroine but she's nothing but a phony, she doesn't even have real power," responded Adrenaline as she quickly dodged the attacks, before moving behind the Shadow Phantom, and forcing her down viciously, standing on the back of her head, allowing Jammerhead to take some free shots with his iron mace. The Shadow Phantom was pulled to her feet and heaved down to the ground where Master Magic aimed an attack. She used her rapidly dwindling reflexes to dodge the attack and the building behind her blew to pieces. Jammerhead raised his hands but a shuriken thrown at him stuck right in his chest. It impacted and exploded, causing the Cyberdroid Supreme to fall down to the ground. However, he was not the only one to fall as the Shadow Phantom collapsed, breathing heavily.

"Once again the Shadow Phantom tries to stand up to a battle she can't weak, weak, inept, a foolish girl," said Master Magic as he levitated her off the ground before he reared back. An enhanced simulated magical attack that was the equivalent to a knockout punch dropped her to the ground. The Shadow Phantom rolled over, she could feel blood dripping down her face but she refused to give up. That was not in the nature of a Potter to just quick but her five enemies circled her, like sharks circling their prey.

"I refuse to go down, you're going to have to kill me," said the Shadow Phantom in a defiant voice as she charged forward and managed to knock Slash backwards with an enhanced punch but Adrenaline dropped down, striking her feet across the back of the head. The Shadow Phantom was thrown and the heroine struggled to get to her feet. If she had cracked some ribs, she would not be surprised and being knocked down by the unseen force of Wraith proved that this was a never ending battle. One that she might not win, despite all of her battles, despite all the villains she fought, the sum total of her five greatest enemies were enough to put her down.

"Well, I've never been one to turn down the request of a lady," responded Jammerhead, holding up a machine gun for an arm but Master Magic dodged around, turning into a shield, absorbing the bullets that caused the Cyberdroid Supreme to back off in surprise. "What did you do that for, Malfoy?"

"Fools, our boss wants her alive," said Master Magic but suddenly, the Shadow Phantom bolted, up, knocking Slash down and a net had wrapped around Adrenaline. Adrenaline broke the attack but Wraith had dove right towards her. Cranking the concentrated light blasters on her arm to full power, The Shadow Phantom blasted Wraith. It staggered him by the slightest of margins and arching her back, she sprang over the attack of Master Magic but he quickly spun around, knocking her on the ground. "However, leaving her comatose is another matter entirely, let's see if we can soften her up to present to our master."

The Shadow Phantom looked up, a hazy expression on her face. She saw that the entire area had finally been cleared out and she detached one of her gauntlets, an idea appearing on her head. Attaching an exploding shuriken with a time release on it, she sent the sonic vibration mechanism to overload and slid it into the middle of the street. The gauntlet vibrated and it was only seconds before it exploded. Activating the propulsion devices of her armor, she shot herself into the air. Seconds later, the gauntlet exploded, caving an area the size of a city block in. The five villains were caught off guard as they fell right into the sewers below the city as the Shadow Phantom dropped herself on the roof, before she collapsed, breathing heavily, crossing her fingers that would be enough to take them out of commission until she regrouped. She crawled on the roof, before she struggled to her feet with great discomfort and made her way to the lab. Hopefully she could find a weapon there that would be able to put down those five for good.

-

Outside of an energy plant, a shadowed figure dropped down, with a control device in his hand. One of the security guards stepped forward and the figure dropped the guard to the ground, before sneaking through the shadows towards the door. The figure moved forward and entered a room with a control console. Dropping down, he attached the device to the control console with expert precision. Now with a push of a button, he could divert all of the city's power to a location of his choosing. The third phase of his plan was completed. Phase one was taking the Hyper Drive from the wreckage. Phase two was breaking the five villains from the Earth Protection Force Base. Phase three was attaching the remote control device of the console and phase four would be the climax of his grand plan. Finally he would even the score from the last time but right now he activated the communication device that he attached the Cyberdroid as he had added the improvements.

"Jammerhead, this is your boss, report, have you had any success in dealing with the Shadow Phantom?" asked the masked figure and he heard a pain, slightly agonized groan in the background. "This is your boss, you will report to me. What is your status of defeating the girl."

"We ran into a bit of a snag, you see…" stated Jammerhead in a meek voice from the other end of the communication link "Well you see something…well perhaps if…"

"What kind of snag?" asked the masked figure in a calm voice, not wanting to hear excuses from lower life criminals. There was a bit of squabbling on the other end but he could expect it with five people who quite frankly had their own agendas.

"Let me talk to him," said Master Magic. "We had her right where we wanted her but she had a trick up her sleeve. She removed one of her gauntlets and overloaded it, collapsing the street beneath us, it was just lucky enough I managed to cushion the fall with my powers but we've just dug ourselves out of the rubble."

"Dust yourselves off and stop her," said the masked figure. "She better not have come the direction I told her to."

"No she went the opposite way, we'll track her down, we nearly had her, it was just luck she managed to defeat us this time," said Master Magic, who was taking his loss to the Shadow Phantom very barely.

"I should have just be left to defeat her on my own, without you four bumbling in the way all of the time, she would have been defeated by now," said Adrenaline.

"Yes, you did so well the last two times you took a crack at her," stated Wraith in a slightly sarcastic voice.

"If those two hadn't wrapped me in those cords, I would have defeated her," said Adrenaline in a persistent voice.

"Enough, we've been through this before, we have to work together if we want to defeat her, she's defeated the five of us individually and even Wraith and Adrenaline together," stated Master Magic. "There were times where we showed promise and she was on the ropes, if we stepped back and worked as a team, we can defeat her."

"You will defeat her or else, I will destroy you," said the masked figure boldly as he checked the configuration of the remote control device. "I removed your limitations but I can always limit you to the extent where you will never fight again. Is that clear?"

There were muttered sounds of forced compliance over the communication link but he could care less. He only had use for most of those super powered common criminals for a short time, to keep the Shadow Phantom busy while he implemented a plan. A beeper on his wrist had informed him of something he had been looking at.

"So you have returned from your little trip early, hero," muttered the masked figure with interest. "Very interesting, you weren't supposed to be due back until tomorrow but I'm sure I can offer you a suitable reception…alright listen up you five. Harry Potter has arrived in town and I want you to deal with him as well. Is that understood."

"Potter, well if this isn't a glorious bonus," responded Master Magic, as he still had a score to settle with Potter after all of the humiliating defeats the former Boy-Who-Lived had given him when he had ran the Squib Inquisition. "Don't worry, that is one battle we can win, he's crippled, there will be no problem, none at all."

"Do not be so certain," cautioned the masked man. "A Harry Potter who is half as skilled as he is used to be is better than most random people off the street. He may mop the floor with you; he'll be a tougher enemy that the Shadow Phantom is but give them equal concern. I want them both captured and brought to the warehouse that I enhanced your powers. Is that clear?"

"Yes, it is," responded Master Magic, who was irritated that he was being pushed around but had no choice but to agree, for now. He would soon make Harry Potter pay, along with the Shadow Phantom, and then this person who had basically enslaved them would pay as well. "Okay we will search the city, any sign of Potter or the Shadow Phantom, we take them out and bring them to the boss."

"Good, glad to that you see things my way," responded the masked figure as he cancelled the link, before he disappeared before anyone could realize the control system in the building was tampered with. So far everything was going according to plan and it would remain that way.

-

Grace collapsed in a chair in the office, taking a healing potion that was kept in the desk for such an emergency. Her injuries were mostly psychological, as she had been batted around pretty good and embarrassed. Two attempts to fight those five and both of them ended in her fleeing for her life. It was unheard of, as she wondered what Bishop could have been thinking to entrust this responsibility onto her. Not that they would not have come at her anyway. She fused a fresh sonic blaster to the armor, Rosaline had done this so many times that now Grace could do so. With her cousin at school, it would be something that she had to do alone. She winced as she walked forward, favoring a few sore ribs. Her father had been known to collect some odd things and store them at this base, where few people were authorized. Perhaps she could find a weapon that would help deal with these five.

Unfortunately a loud explosion outside of the building had caused her to turn around. Quickly, she slipped the helmet back over her head, obscuring her identity and stepped forward. Wraith, Slash, Jammerhead, Adrenaline, and Master Magic were outside the building and the fiendish five looked up with grins on their face.

"Well Miss Radcliffe you were correct about her being here, we have her trapped down, Michael cut her off, the rest of us will meet you momentarily," ordered Master Magic as Jammerhead converted his hands into springs, before he dropped down and bounced up through the window.

"Going up," cackled Jammerhead, phasing through the window, if not to break the glass but the Shadow Phantom was ready, aiming a kick directly at his head as he became whole once again. She somersaulted over the desk and dodged an attack from his laser blaster converted hand. Several blasts ripped through the air, narrowly avoided by the Shadow Phantom. She launched herself over Jammerhead and grabbed him, in an attempt to fling him into the wall but he phased through before he popped right back up, knocking her for a loop. The Shadow Phantom groaned as the door blasted open to reveal Master Magic. Slash rushed forward but his prey threw a chair into his path. He punched the object out of the way, causing it to spin as Wraith snuck around, but the Shadow Phantom leapt. Unfortunately not fast enough as Wraith grabbed the legs of the shadow right beside him and with a jerk, the Shadow Phantom landed on the ground. Adrenaline flipped over and kicked her right into the arms of Jammerhead, who held her in place with a pair of sickles, allowing Slash to aim a vicious punch right towards her.

"Slash not like being made a fool of," said Slash as he grabbed the Shadow Phantom by the throat and launched her into the air where she landed on the desk causing papers to fly everywhere.

"None of us enjoy being beaten by an infernal little brat, I believe I shorted out all the little gadgets in that outfit once and I'll do it again," said Master Magic as he turned a red color and blasted his full power right towards the Shadow Phantom but her grappling hook latched onto the ceiling fan, pulling her out of the way. She flicked a pellet from her armor, causing them to be surrounded in a choking cloud of smoke and the Shadow Phantom was now a step ahead of her pursuers.

"Your parlor tricks are amusing but not effective," responded Master Magic, as he vanished the smoke with a mere gesture and Wraith grabbed the shadow of the door knob, closing it behind her and Slash grabbed her and threw her to the ground. The Shadow Phantom attempted to move towards the windows but Master Magic waved his hands and they all snapped shut with a mere gesture. "I believe you have run out of room."

"As if there was any doubt," stated Adrenaline in a snide voice, as she leapt forward and kicked the Shadow Phantom down. Jammerhead and Slash knocked her down with a double assault and Wraith held her in place. "Make sure you secure her arms as well, I won't have her using those little sonic gauntlets to trip us up again."

Slash and Jammerhead helped Wraith hold the Shadow Phantom and Adrenaline moved forward, with a smirk on her face. This was a moment that she had been waiting for ever since she found out that the Shadow Phantom and Grace Potter was one and the same. Her enemy on her knees, helpless at her mercy, she was obsessed with it. Adrenaline walked forward, licking her lips in anticipation as she enjoyed the struggle."

"Spare the melodrama and unmask her, then I'll stun her and take her to the boss," ordered Master Magic in an irritated voice but Adrenaline just gave him a nasty glare.

"Listen here Malfoy, I'm savoring the moment," said Adrenaline as she took a deep breath, smirking as the Shadow Phantom gave a futile struggle, but the three villains holding her had caused these attempts to go in vain. "And now the moment we've all been waiting for, the Shadow Phantom unmasked…"

Just then, smoke was being pumped in from the air vents. Grace was confused momentarily, this was not her escape technique but she welcomed the distraction, managing to just barely pull herself free and dive right at Adrenaline, knocking her down to the ground. She saw several figures move in the shadows but could see Adrenaline go down to the ground, until she was whacked in the back of the legs by some blunt object. A light struck her right between the eyes, knocking her rather loopy. Slash moved forward towards the source of the attacks but was thrown right into the wall as hard as possible. The turtle crumpled, injured as Wraith stepped forward, but a canister dropped to the ground, before it exploded, releasing a thick yellow gas and causing him to be solidified. Wraith fell to the ground stiff and unmoving.

"Jammerhead, stop whoever is doing this!" shouted Master Magic but a thick spiked metal orb struck his chest. It attached to it, temporarily frying his circuitry just as the dust cleared to reveal a very familiar face. "Potter!"

"In the flesh," responded Harry as he put his wand away, standing face to face with Master Magic who just had a smile on his face.

"In oblivion I have dreamed of this moment…" stated Master Magic but Harry leapt up, before throwing another spiked ball, releasing a cloud of platinum dust that caused Master Magic discomfort.

"You put them in peril Malfoy, you will wish you were locked up when I'm done with you," said Harry in an intense voice as he rushed forward, but Master Magic twirled, before he landed behind Harry and aimed an attack. He ducked and a chain made of solid platinum wrapped around Master Magic. He struggled in the grip of the chain but somehow managed to break out.

"You've done your homework as always Potter, but one thing is for certain, I'm not the pushover that Luther Malfoy was, I'm Master Magic," said Master Magic as he blasted several attacks towards Harry, who avoided them to the best of his abilities, ignoring the fallen bodies of the other four escaped fugitives. "You've lost more than a few steps but I've gained new powers and I will destroy you for my boss."

"Your boss must be rather desperate to hire such a low rent thug such as yourself," stated Harry as he blasted two more clouds of Platinum dust. The first one slowed Master Magic down but the second one was fought through easily and Harry was lifted up to the ground and blasted off of his feet.

"Your little methods to defeat me will only work a couple of times," stated Master Magic in a triumphant voice as he knocked Harry down as the Shadow Phantom watched in horror. She leapt forward and caught Master Magic off guard in between attacks but he quickly rebounded, knocking her backwards. Another attack knocked Harry over the desk, the back of his chronically bad knee cracking with an awkward hit. A canister rolled out of his pocket and the Shadow Phantom picked it up.

"Take some of this!" shouted the Shadow Phantom as she removed the pin and flung it towards Master Magic. He was blasted forwards, covered in liquefied platinum that quickly solidified when it came in contact with him, causing him to be trapped. Concerned, she moved over, as her father was severely injured, even though the five criminals had been taken out of commission immediately.

"I'm fine," gasped Harry in a pained expression as the Shadow Phantom held him up but Adrenaline began to stir.

"We'll worry about this group later, you should get to a safe place," said the Shadow Phantom and Harry nodded, before he tapped his wand towards the Portus Amulet, thinking of the old lair. With a tug, it pulled them forward as Adrenaline got to her feet, balling up her hands in fists in anger. She was so close to unmasking the Shadow Phantom but Daddy had to save the day. She moved over towards Jammerhead who was convulsing on the ground and pried upon the chest plate with her bare hands, before she reworked the fried circuits. It took a couple of moments but Jammerhead came back to life. He looked confused.

"Malfoy is there, you'd have something to chip him out, I'm going to work on something that will reverse what Potter did to Knox," responded Adrenaline before she looked at Slash. "As for him, well he'll wake up on his own."

"Gotcha," said Jammerhead as he transfigured his arms into a drill, that he began busting through, to free Master Magic, who would have been trapped for an amount of time without his assistance. As Jammerhead continued to chip Master Magic free, Adrenaline moved to the main lab to concoct an antidote for the unfortunate condition that Wraith had been left in. Slash stirred, a groan issued by the vicious, dimwitted alien turtle.

-

Harry sank down on the moth worn sofa in the lair, the back of his leg was killing him from the force that Malfoy blasted him into it. The Shadow Phantom stood over him, quietly as if not wanting to break the silence.

"Just need a minute to regain my composure, then back into the battle I guess," said Harry but he could not even think about standing right now.

"That was a hard hit you took, you should really rest and not try and move," said the Shadow Phantom, trying to disguise her voice.

"I've had worse, something that you should know, Grace," responded Harry and the Shadow Phantom just stood there, jaw dropped, at the fact that her father had just casually mentioned her name as if it was second hand. "Of course I knew, what kind of father did you think I am? That attempt to disguise your voice was good I must admit, if I didn't know, I might not have caught on straight away."

"You knew the entire time," remarked Grace in an astonished voice, remembering what her aunt had said a couple of months ago and Harry just smirked.

"I wasn't called one of the smartest students in my year at Hogwarts for nothing, but do you really think I don't monitor any incoming communications coming from buildings I own, I knew you were planning doing something for weeks, so I planted the alien battle suit that became the Shadow Phantom armor," said Harry. "True, most fathers would have tried to discourage their daughter from doing something like that, but what would you have done if I would have tried?"

"I would have stomped up to my room and did it anyway," remarked Grace.

"Exactly, there is a time that we parents sometimes forget we were once teenagers," said Harry wisely. "I helped you wherever I could, but I couldn't play my hand too much, otherwise you might be suspicious. However, a bit of casual assistance here and there, like your battle with Adrenaline, that Ginny went along with well."

"Does Mum know?" asked Grace.

"I have a sense she does but it's just one of those things that have never come up," said Harry. "When this Fiendish Five, the news is calling them, were announced battling you, I knew you would be in way over your head. Not that you're good, but five dangerous criminals are tough to put down under any circumstances."

"You would have found a way and you did, almost," responded Grace.

"Well I'm the exception to many rules and I had the element of surprise on my side, it won't happen twice and if you weren't there, I would have been finished off, Malfoy got me good," said Harry as he sighed before he attempted to get to his feet but sank. "What am I thinking? I gave up this game for a reason. My help is only going to put you in danger. I would say for you to lay low, but I know that's nothing something you would want to do or those five will allow to happen."

Harry had a thoughtful look in his eyes.

"You need help and I…know where to get it, four warriors who I know are capable," said Harry as he looked at Grace, with a conflicted look on his face, but he needed to face something that he had been shoving into the back of his mind for years. "Grace, you need to find my brothers and reunite them somehow to help you."


	20. Chapter 20: Power of Five Part Three

**Chapter Twenty: The Power of Five Part Three:**

"You want me to find them?" asked Grace in an astonished voice as her father responded with a nod, as he adjusted his leg to get the proper elevation, looking at his daughter with a focused expression on his face. As much as he wished he could help her, he could barely stand. "I don't even remember meeting them, I don't even know where to start, I don't know where they could be?"

"I do," said Harry calmly, he had been keeping tabs on any strange sightings of anything that could be considered mutant Turtles and despite he had never gone any further than that, he had a pretty good idea where the four of them were. He just never felt like he had to confront them about it, not wanting to dig open old wounds, but the city needed them to rise to the occasion and be heroes one more time. Maybe it would be one last time but it had to be done, no matter what.

"You knew where they were this entire time?" asked Grace in an astonished voice but her surprise only latest mere seconds. It was really no surprise as her father tended to be pretty much on top of things. He did know she was the Shadow Phantom and had offered no hints, until he had to. "Why didn't you…"

"I do have my reasons, mostly old wounds should remain close, but I have enough information where I should pin them down, they are in the sewers, despite going their separate ways, they tend to be rather close to the lair but go out of there way in avoiding each other," said Harry. "Now it's your time to use what I taught you, to pass messages discretely to all four of them. Tell them to meet you at the warehouse, they're know, it's important, the entire city could be hanging in the balance."

"I can do that," said Grace with a firm nod, as she prepared herself for the information.

"Before I give you this information, I'm going to warn you to be careful and be on your guard, the five are still in the city, they might be immobilized, but they will be back on their feet before too long, you need to be ready for anything," responded Harry and Grace responded with another nod, before she turned. She was ready to do what was necessary.

Harry leaned back, eyes closed, as he sighed. Reuniting his brothers after all of these years, he hoped they would be up to it. The American Wizarding Government was unwilling or unable to step in. Bishop decided to force this onto his daughter by what Harry could gather and he was unable to help. He rested on the couch, knowing that he would be fighting alongside Grace if he could.

-

"We have a problem," said Master Magic, as they had all been put back on their feet. "Not only as the Shadow Phantom escaped but now we have Harry Potter on our tails. I knocked him down but he's not out yet."

"Why did he save the Shadow Phantom?" asked Slash and Adrenaline looked smug, she knew the reason but damned if she was going to enlighten the others and have them steal her glory.

"How should I know?" demanded Master Magic as sparks rose up. "The point is, our boss, he wants both of them captured and brought to him. Where it goes from there, it's up to him. I have loftier goals in mind but if we work together one more time, we can bring the Shadow Phantom down once and for all. Now, are you all with me?"

"We have to be, she's beaten each of us before and every time we had her as a team, she escaped only because of lucky," said Wraith. "The question is, do we have a plan?"

"Naturally I have a plan, I was once of the foremost crime lords in this city at one time and we will take her out this time and anyone else who stands in her way," said Master Magic.

"I would have taken her out if you lot hadn't been getting in my way every time I got close," said Adrenaline. "She beat all of you because you are incompetent, I was beaten because of pure luck. Nothing more and now you think I need your help."

"You think you are better than us, don't you?" demanded Slash as he looked at her, an ugly scowl on his face. "Give me one reason why I shouldn't rip you into pieces. Slash will smash you."

"I'd like to see you try, aquarium breath," taunted Adrenaline as she turned to the others. "What we got here is an alien reptile, a psychotic cyborg, a jock with super powers, and…Malfoy, I'll give you credit, at least you know how to wield your power half of the time. Still, you can't even accomplish a fraction of what I can without your puny powers. I had her on the ropes, let's not forget, if it wasn't for Potter…"

"Listen here you little girl, I had her as well, I dropped an entire building and had she not slipped through the exit in time, I would have defeated her," said Jammerhead but Master Magic clapped his hands, causing a large magical bang to echo through the air, causing the rest of the five to turn to him.

"Now is not the time for us to fight among ourselves, if there are any issues, we can settle them after the Shadow Phantom has met her final fate, until then, we have to defeat her," said Master Magic. "I think despite our disagreements, we can all agree on one thing. We want her gone and only by throwing one last full assault at her can we do it. Now, I'll ask one more time, who's with me?"

"I'm with you," said Wraith.

"Slash is with you," grunted Slash.

"Count me in Master Magic, we'll beat her silly," said Jammerhead and they all turned to Adrenaline.

"I'm with you, but if we don't defeat her this time, I'll take care of her alone, three times failing to beat her, even with the five of us, is rather pathetic," said Adrenaline and Master Magic just sighed, before he spoke.

"Fine you arrogant little brat, you got it, now back into the city, we will draw her out once again and this time, we will succeed, we have to succeed," said Master Magic, as they all moved down into the city. They had to do this, the Shadow Phantom would be struck down and the entire world would see their triumph. Adrenaline just looked at the other four with a skeptical look on her face, she was nearly at the end of her patience, she was so self conscious that she would be robbed over her decisive victory, over Potter, the Shadow Phantom and that ate her up inside. She hated being blackmailed into being with criminals in the first place when she was a heroine.

Still she would allow them to ride her coattails, for now but there would come a time where she would shove them to the side and take what she deserved, exposing the Shadow Phantom, letting the entire world know who or what she really was.

-

A shadowed figure dropped down at the old warehouse on the corner of Eastman and Laird. It had been several years since he had been in this place. In fact, ever since the Foot had demolished the second lair and the warehouse along with it, it was pretty much abandoned. Still, as his green hands, clutched around a pair of katanas, he walked forward, an intense look in his eyes, determined to get to the bottom of what was taking place. Leo had kept up his skills, against a few thugs he had ran into on a training run but had mostly kept to the shadows, not socializing with anyone. He spent most of his time in the sewers, thinking about what had been. It was rather interesting the death of Master Splinter had set off a chain of events that had broken apart the entire family. Sure, Voldemort was defeated by Harry but other than that, the negatives outweighed the positives. Still he heard a few footsteps and tensed up. He had always knew it was going to be a trap.

"Leo?" asked a confused voice as Leo relaxed, when he saw Don walk out of the shadows, hands tense, wrapped around the Bo Staff. "Is that really you?"

"Yes, it's me," said Leo in a cool voice, it was obvious there still some coolness in the air after the breakup all those years ago. "So how are things?"

"Could be worse," said Don with a shrug, as he had spent most of his years, tinkering with whatever technology he found, without a purpose, mostly to keep his mind occupied. He had barely could stand training his abilities, as they just reminded him of what happened. He kept his Bo staff with him at all times, but other than that, he decided not to spare a thought. "Were you the one who called me here?"

"No, I can't say I have," remarked Leo in a calm voice as he looked around. "I wonder who did this."

"That's exactly what I wanted to know," said Mikey gruffly as he stepped out of the shadows, a bit embittered and a lot less fun loving than he was. He had matured, almost forced and his face looked worn, he had taken their rather ugly parting of the ways the worst. Life never seemed fun for him. He had his nunchucks on him, looking at them for the first time in years, on the chance it was a trap. "Don, Leo, it's been a long time, hasn't it?"

"Yes Mikey it has," said Leo in a calm voice, as if he was discussing the weather, but Mikey just had his hands around his nunchucks.

"Five years, we never talked to each other, we just split apart ugly, after what happened to Harry, and Harry…I know why he never bothered to talk to us, he's ashamed of the whole lot of us," said Mikey in a gruff voice. "We let him down in a big way, not because he got hurt, because he wasted time bickering, I saw what was on his face other than the pain and I knew then that I could never speak to him again. Yet, here we are again, well almost all of us anyway."

"Yeah where is Raph?" asked Don in a confused voice.

"Do I look like his keeper?" asked Mikey bitterly. "He might have left town for all I know and really…three of us together, I don't know who called us here, but they need our help, the five villains tearing apart the city, it has to be it."

"Yes, it has to be, if its Harry…" said Leo as he shook his head, before trailing off. "I heard enough to know that he might not be able to walk again and I can't help but wonder if we had stuck around a little longer, if the city had never fallen apart."

"Is this a private party or can anyone join?" asked a sharp voice and Raph stepped forward, Sais drawn, as if he was ready for a fight. "Yes, I'm here, as if you expected anything less. The city's a wreck but damned if I was going to leave it alone. I've tried to lend a hand where I could, I stabbed a couple of those robots a couple of weeks ago, shorted them out but I can't be everywhere at once. And you three, let's face it, you didn't exactly stick your necks out to help."

"Now Raph I'm sure…" said Don in a pacifying voice.

"No, let me accuse us, he's right, we should have helped but…" responded Mikey. "We didn't."

"I know you didn't and look at the city, it's fallen apart, but can we really hold the blame on that one?" asked Raph. "We did our part but if you ask me, it was bound to fall apart sooner or later, this city has never been anything but one problem after another. It's a wonder it didn't just fall into the ground. There's some times that I wonder why I even bother, why I don't do as Mikey suggested and just leave town."

"Why don't you?" asked Leo.

"It's what's right, as you constantly drilled in our heads, the one time where the city was at war, with the Foot, the Purple Dragons, and the Mob, you wanted to get involved, even though I thought it was a stupid idea," said Raph. "I didn't agree, but I did, because it was right and we've stuck our necks out for much less. Now, with all your talk of honor, you just decided to crawl into your shell and forget about everything. Master Splinter might be gone but so what. He wanted us to move on and beyond everything that has happened."

Leo looked at Raph, staring at him, almost as if he was trying to determine how much he should say. There was some biting comment he was holding back to direct at Raph. He was a bit irritated about how his brother was trying to judge how he felt and his hands were on his katanas and he took a deep breath but Raph was not done admonishing him yet. He was far from done as Raph opened his mouth again.

"Harry might have given up but who could really blame him, after the fact he was let down?" asked Raph. "He kept getting pulled back he, he made the choice and those choices cost him. He did have a wife and a daughter to worry about, when we had no such responsibilities. Despite the fact I walked away from you guys, I never walked away from the fight. I might regret what happened but I regret even more that I thought any of you had any honor. Especially you Leo, after what happened, you just gave up."

"Now listen here Raph, I did what I had to do, it was over, we were doing no one any good!" shouted Leo in an angry voice as he withdrew his katanas. "In fact, there was one reason why we fell apart in the first place and that was your temper. You can't deny that at all Raph, it was your hotheaded attitude that got us in so much trouble."

"My attitude is an easy scapegoat, Leo, for the real culprit and that would be your shoddy leadership abilities," said Raph as he came short of blaming Leo for Master Splinter's death but Leo appeared to sense that was on the tip of his tongue. Raph pulled out his Sais out and he stood off with Leo. "You have a problem with my attitude, so let's settle this, one on one, me and you right now."

"Glad to Raph," said Leo as they circled each other, Mikey and Don taking steps back. They had no interest in breaking up the squabble but a blast impacted the ground, causing their attention to turn to a figure in the shadows.

"So, these are the four brothers that Dad speaks so highly of," said Grace, as she walked out of the shadows, eyes narrowed, at Raph and Leo in particular.

"Grace is that you?" asked Leo.

"Man, we haven't seen you since…" said Raph.

"I was little, yes I know, I don't remember, I spent most of my time ill, I vaguely remember you now that I see you," said Grace as she looked at them all. "Of course I'm known with another name these days…"

"You don't mean?" asked Mikey.

"I think she does," responded Raph as he snickered. He should have known. "Little Grace Potter, is the Shadow Phantom. I suppose Harry was really thrilled when he found out."

"No actually he helped me every step of the way," responded Grace as she looked at them. "Nevertheless, I'm sure you've heard by now, of the five fugitives that are causing havoc in the city."

"I've heard, Malfoy I know and Slash as well but the other three…" said Raph.

"New players, someone has put them together for the purpose of destroying me," responded Grace quietly. "I've made my fair share of enemies…"

"It comes with the territory, for as many people as you would help, you also gain a fair amount of enemies as well," stated Don in a wise voice. "The thing is, we haven't seen you after all of these years, so why didn't you come to us?"

"Dad told me, he looked like he wanted to fight, but Master Magic, he blasted him backwards and damaged his leg again," stated Grace.

"Malfoy did that, is Harry…" stated Raph.

"He's fine," responded Grace as she sighed. "The question is with those five out there, how long is the city going to be fine? I can't do this alone, my luck has ran out, the fourth time, I might not be as lucky, that's why I've come to ask you four for help in defeating the Fiendish Five."

"Grace, listen, we're done, I don't know what Harry told you, but we went our separate ways for a reason," said Leo with a sigh, as he looked at them. "We let Harry down, the moment we couldn't function as a team. In fact, after Master Splinter died, we couldn't function as a team all together. Harry tried the best but he was more worried about you as he should be, but he just threw his hands up into the air after a while. We spent more time fighting each other than our opponents. It's not supposed to be like this. Besides, we're not as young as we used to be. We were there every step of the way with your father and I don't think we would do you much good."

"I can't believe this Leo, our niece comes here asking us for help, and you turn her down!" shouted Raph in an incredulous voice as Leo looked at him. "I don't care what the big leader says, I'm in one hundred percent, even if it is a losing battle."

"I'm not turning her down, I'm just stating a fact, we're a liability to her and to this city," said Leo as he looked at Raph.

"Liability or not, this is something that has to be done," said Mikey in a firm voice. "I've made a mistake giving up but I'm going to make things right, no matter what. If you want to walk away, Leo, good for you, we're throw you a retirement part when we survive but I'm with Raph."

"At least two of us can still do the right thing," responded Raph as he cast an irritated look at Leo.

"Three," responded Don with a nod. "Master Splinter wouldn't want us to wallow in the misery of our own failures…."

"Don't tell me what Master Splinter wants!" shouted Leo angrily. "He's gone and nothing will bring him back, don't you see, he held us together, with our personalities, even Harry gave up on us after a while, but Master Splinter never would have and…"

"Exactly Leo, Master Splinter would have never given up and to do so right now, you're going to dishonor his memory more than anything else you could have done," said Raph and Leo stopped, looking at Raph. "It's your choice but think about the choice that you're going to make."

Before Leo could even answer, the front of the factory was blown off, as the form of Master Magic appeared, with Adrenaline, Jammerhead, Wraith, and Slash around them. Grace only could activate her Shadow Phantom armor just in time and duck behind a crate just in time before they could walk completely into the factory.

"I knew we would find her if we looked under enough rocks," said Adrenaline before her eyes narrowed, when she caught sight of the Turtles. "Oh, great more reptiles."

Slash turned to glare but Master Magic looked pleased with what he had seen.

"So the Turtles have reunited, just in time for their utter destruction, this is an excellent bonus to be certain after all the times you infernal mutants have foiled my schemes," said Master Magic as he spun his hands, before he shot up gusts of magically simulated wind that blew into the factory, knocking the Turtles and the Shadow Phantom down backwards as the other villains moved in.

-

Harry sat up to flick on the news to attempt to catch a hint of what was the latest news coming in from the city. At the very least, there was still power coming into the old lair but the minute he shut on the television. He got up, with a slight limp to investigate, the sewers was pitch back and he poked his head out, the traffic lights that he could see was blacked out. Harry frowned, there appeared to be a surge of power. It was uncertain where the power surge was coming from but someone had been tapping into a lot of power and there was only one thing that required that much power. Inter-dimensional travel which raised all kinds of alarm bells and possibilities that Harry did not want to think of.

-

"So, I guess its official, we're back together!" grunted Raph as he flung the crate at Master Magic who blasted it away. Adrenaline moved in, to attack The Shadow Phantom but the Shadow Phantom dodged the attack. The two girls fight, with the Shadow Phantom throwing her to the ground. A running kick caught her right in the face, knocking her to the ground and Mikey dodged the attacks, before Wraith grabbed the shadow of his nunchucks, swinging him to the ground. Slash dove at Mikey but Raph sprung up and knocked the vicious turtle to the side.

"It seems so," said Leo reluctantly as he swung his blades at Master Magic. They caused small amounts of damage, being made of a metal that was close to platinum. It was fortunate that he carried them today.

"So what's the plan with dealing with these guys?" asked Don as the Shadow Phantom continued her battle with Adrenaline and Jammerhead was swinging his arms, converted into long chains at Don, attempting to pull his Bo staff out of his grip.

"Wraith, aim it so the shadows are at the shadows, Master Magic, try to direct his powers towards the others but other than that, it's pure luck, Jammerhead, keep fighting and short circuit him if possible, Slash, just keep fighting until he goes down," said The Shadow Phantom as she dodged the attacks of Adrenaline, who expertly evaded an attack.

"As for Adrenaline?" asked Leo as he swung another attack at Master Magic, backing him off.

"Leave her to me," said The Shadow Phantom as she managed to flip Adrenaline over. Adrenaline landed on her feet and managed to fling two daggers right at her enemy. The Shadow Phantom deflected her attacks and moved forward, but Adrenaline grabbed her enemy's arm. Both girls struggled at a stalemate as Raph and Slash moved forward. Slash rushed forward and attempted to smash Raph's head in but Raph avoided the attack. Raph turned around and decked Slash, knocking him down to the ground. Wraith moved forward, as Mikey squinted his eyes, in an attempt to swing. This focusing on the shadow things was a bit troublesome and he was out of practice to begin with.

Jammerhead converted his arms into miniature saw blades and he rushed forward, attempting to carve Don's Bo Staff. Don sprang over Jammerhead and swung his Bo Staff, before he cracked it right into the chest of Jammerhead. He just responded by laughing in amusement, before hoisting Don up and throwing him forward into the wall.

"Foolish reptilian, I have the power of the Cyberdroid Supreme and one hundred million ninja warriors, you can't stop me," said Jammerhead.

"This might stop you," grunted Raph as he threw Slash right at Jammerhead. The alien reptile spiraled through the air and smacked right into Jammerhead and Raph dove forward, Sais drawn, but Jammerhead put his hands together and converted them into a solid metal shield, that caused Raph to stagger backwards. Raph nearly fell down and one of Jammerhead's arms turned into a large iron mace. It swung at Raph but Raph ducked underneath it. He threw his Sai, jamming it into the wall, trapping Jammerhead, who attempted to pull it out but Raph used the other Sai to ram right into the chest plate of Jammerhead, viciously ripping it open, causing sparks to fly everywhere.

"Hey, man, hey, hands off the merchandise!" shrieked Jammerhead as Slash picked up a large tire and flung it at Raph. Raph dodged the attack and did a somersault, before he landed behind Slash. Slash grabbed Raph as Master Magic was busy fighting both Don and Leo, who attempted to corner him.

"Do you see it's hopeless?" asked Master Magic who waved his hand, transfiguring Don's Bo staff into a snake, causing the turtle to drop it in surprise. This allowed, Wraith to sneak up from behind, grab Don by the back of the bandanna and yanked him down. Don saw that he was under the shadow of a net with several empty oil drums, before he picked up a dagger that Adrenaline had used earlier in the fight and flung it right at the ropes, slicing into them and causing them to topple down onto Wraith. Wraith struggled as Leo fought Master Magic.

"It might be hopeless but as long as the fight is in us, we can't take it out," said Leo but Master Magic just waved his hands and Leo ducked a powerful magical explosion. Mikey sprung up and swung his nunchucks right at Master Magic but he grabbed him by the weapon and they spun around in the air, causing Mikey to smash to the ground. Several ropes sprung up, snaking around the turtle, trapping him in place. Mikey squirmed as Raph and Slash continued their brawl. Raph made a movement to help Mikey, but Slash grabbed him by the throat.

"I'm getting a bit sick of you to be honest," grunted Raph, as he kicked Slash off, but Adrenaline and the Shadow Phantom continued their fight in the distance, Adrenaline holding a crowbar, attempting to cave her opponent's helmet in.

"I'm going to break that armor off of you," said Adrenaline in an irritated voice as she swung the crowbar but The Shadow Phantom somersaulted over her and landed firmly on her feet.

"You're going to have to get up earlier to do that," said the Shadow Phantom as she shot three metal rings. One took out the crowbar and the others wrapped up Adrenaline. A stun blast had shot her backwards into the wall. It would only knock her out for a couple of minutes but it was more than they had. Jammerhead was free, despite the damage done and he moved forward, before he turned his arm into shuriken cannon and flicked them towards Don. Don ducked, dodged, and swerved all of the attacks before he picked up a pipe to deflect the attacks. He flung it forward but Jammerhead turned his other arm into a chain, wrapping around the pipe, before he swung it right at Don. Don was knocked backwards, spiraling over before he landed onto his shell. Jammerhead turned his hands into giant boxing gloves and he bopped Don in the face with them over and over again with glee.

Slash and Raph continued their brawl.

"I'll show you, you puny little turtle," grunted Slash, as he grabbed Raph and attempted to bash the back of his head into the cinderblocks behind them but he was into it.

"Right," said Raph as he looked at Leo, who dodged the attacks from Master Magic, the objects it struck exploding. The two turtles locked eyes and they knew what they must do. Just as Slash charges Raph and Master Magic blasted at Leo, they both left. Slash charged right into the path from an attack from Master Magic and immediately the Shadow Phantom came from behind, flinging a shuriken. Master Magic raised his finger and a bolt of light zipped right towards the shuriken. It exploded into a cloud of platinum dust, causing Master Magic to gag.

"Now, throw your weapons, why he's weakened!" shouted The Shadow Phantom and Raph and Leo did as they were told. Master Magic was knocked out of the sky, in a semi-corporeal form, until the Shadow Phantom blasted a net and several platinum rings that caught him into place.

"Four down, one to go," said Leo as he picked up his weapons, Raph did the same but Jammerhead stood there, balling his fists up, but her realized the odds were not in his favor. Three against one, as Master Magic continued to struggle against his bindings.

"Uh, boys, maybe we can talk this over," said Jammerhead as Raph swung the Sai right at him, before they both jammed right into his chest plate. The Cyborg screamed.

"Alright stop right there!" shouted Adrenaline in a loud voice, as she held what looked like a sonic gun right at Mikey's head, who was still tied up and unable to free himself. "Drop your weapons and surrender or this reptile gets his head cleared out. I think a weapon of this magnitude right in your ears wouldn't be pretty, especially when he doesn't have the recuperative powers like I do. Wouldn't you agree, Shadow Phantom?"

"I see you're lowering yourself to the level of these common street thugs," said the Shadow Phantom as she looked at Adrenaline, who held the weapon steady. Mikey squirmed, but the he was unable to move out of the way.

"Drop the weapons and shut off your armor, I don't want any surprises," said Adrenaline and Raph and Leo had no choice but to drop their weapons. The Shadow Phantom reached forward and depowered her armor, reluctantly. "That's great and all but I could care less about the reptiles, now know about your little sonic blockers in your helmet. I have earplugs that will block out the sonic waves emitted by this weapon and once I put the gun on full power, it will be the end of theses filthy reptiles."

"That won't be necessary," said Master Magic as he broke free, before he transformed into a wall of red magical energy that shot forward and blasted forward. He controlled his movement, so he could strike the Turtles and the Shadow Phantom down one by one. He waved his hand, summoning the weapon away from Adrenaline. "You could have effected us all with that little foolish trick."

Adrenaline just responded with a shrug and rolled her eyes. The fewer criminals she would have to deal with the better. Jammerhead came to life.

"Report to me," said the mysterious source.

"We have them, boss, The Shadow Phantom and the Turtles as well," said Master Magic.

"The Turtles, well isn't that an added pleasure?" asked the voice calmly. "As for Harry Potter…"

"We were unable to get him as of yet," said Master Magic.

"No matter, in due time, we will get him, bring the Turtles and the Shadow Phantom to the location that we intended, I will dispose of them in time," said the voice and Master Magic nodded, before he freed Wraith from his containment and Slash was revived. "Alright, listen, the master's orders are to bring this lot in and that's what we're going to do.

-

Grace's eyes flickered open, she was still in her armor and Adrenaline stood over her.

"I'm not about to unmask you unless it's in a public venue in front of loads of people," said Adrenaline but she looked at her. "You were lucky, but the moment I can, I will stage your final descent and expose you."

She could see the Turtles and their moaning forms strapped to operating tables and they woke up, a bit dazed and confused, but at least they were still there as the other four came in, to await the arrival.

"Any ideas why we couldn't just kill them?" asked Wraith.

"The boss wanted them alive, and that was what was going to happen," said Master Magic coldly, as he looked at Adrenaline who just responded with a smirk. Once their debt was paid, Master Magic intended to wipe it right from the impudent girl's face.

"You have done well, with the exception of there being no Harry Potter, but it is to be expected, he has been notoriously been savvy at evading justice," responded a masked figure as he walked forward, the Turtle squirming. "Now, we're even, your debt has been paid and I have no further use for you."

Suddenly, the floor beneath Wraith, Slash, Jammerhead, and the Shadow Phantom collapsed beneath them and they found themselves inside a pit, where gas was pumped in, designed to affect them in someway. The hooded figure turned to Adrenaline who was astonished.

"Not that I'm complaining, but why did you take them out and leave me?" asked Adrenaline.

"You're the only one of any value for reasons that I will make clear immediately, first of all, the Shadow Phantom or should I say, Grace Potter, I hope she is comfortable with this arrangement," said the hooded figure. "I busted those super powered low lives out of prison and they will be returned, but it won't be to some flimsy prison where they can break out. I will make sure they never live to trouble anyone ever again. The world will be remodeled and this time, I won't be stopped by anyone. Not even my pathetic mirror opposite can stop me this time."

The figure removed the mask to reveal the face of the twisted mirror opposite of Harry Potter, the Dark Emperor, Nega-Harry and the Turtles gasped in shock, he was in inter-dimensional limbo the last time they checked and questions ran through their minds about how he escaped from that limbo.


	21. Chapter 21: Power of Five Part Four

**Chapter Twenty One: The Power of Five Part Four:**

Nega-Harry stood, looking at the Turtles, who glared at him. Grace remembered her father briefly mentioning his battles with his mirror universe counterpart but it was just only in passing. They were never described in detail, as if it was something that he wanted to acknowledge, but not bring into great detail. The Dark Emperor stood, with Adrenaline on the other side, perplexed.

"How did you get out?" demanded Raph.

"The last time you fought Harry, he knocked you into that interdimensional void, there is no way you could have gotten out of that oblivion," said Mikey in a shocked voice but the Dark Emperor just responded with laughing, a smile creeping onto his face.

"Naturally, I did escape, as I'm here, you seem, time doesn't pass normally in that void, it felt like years but was really only several months in reality," remarked Nega-Harry smugly. "When my misguided counterpart trapped me in that dimension, I thought this would be the end. On the other side of the mirror, my work would be eliminated, it would crumble, years of hard work eliminated in one fell swoop. My mind nearly snapped in that void but somehow, interdimensional disturbances, caused by Draxxor's little attempts to throw this world into the Realm of Darkness caused rips in the void to open. All of time and space were compromised for several months and I went through several alternate realities because of the interdimensional rifts opening and closing. I had a sense of where they were coming from, because of my experiments with dimensional travel and my work with the portal from the last time we battle. No matter what, each of the openings never lead to the one I wanted, back to my world. I managed to return to this one, but no matter what, my world was out of reach. I hated every moment of my time here, but I made plans, I watched as this city crumbled apart. Our favorite hero did nothing to stop the madness, even less than usual. In fact, he gave up and so did I, all of my work was consumed with finding a way back home."

The Dark Emperor paused, looking at the Turtles who were struggling, along with the Shadow Phantom but he just responded with a smug smile.

"I wouldn't really bother, those bindings are tight and I've shut down your armor, only leaving enough power for that little tracking device that your father has put into it," said Nega-Harry calmly as he looked at the Shadow Phantom. "Yes, I know who you are but quite frankly, I don't really care. You're only a minor problem to the over tapestry of corruption in the universe. I expected this from your father, maintaining the status quo but the moment you put on that armor, you nearly compromised anything. That's why I put together the Fiendish Five, even though I loathed having to work together with such petty thugs."

"I'm not with them, I hated working with them, I'm not a petty thug, I'm a heroine," said Adrenaline, speaking up for the first time and the Dark Emperor just turned to her, but he did not seem annoyed, rather he smiled.

"I know, Andrea, believe me, you were victimized by young Miss Potter as much as the rest of the city," said Nega-Harry. "My mirror counterpart was much the same we, he never understood that I was the true hero. He called me the evil, twisted, distorted counterpart, but he was the counterpart. I took over the world because I had to, I took care of all the evil. At one time, I mistakenly believed that I should have honor but why should there be honor, when the entire world doesn't have any?"

"It's because it's the right thing to do," responded the Shadow Phantom. "I wouldn't expect a twisted counterpart of my father do to the right thing, you unlocked those villains, to set them on me but why? What could you have to gain?"

"Now, silence, I don't give a damn about you, you aren't the objective, it's my counterpart I'm after," said Nega-Harry coldly. "You're merely the means to bait the trap. I have nothing personal against you, even though you have inherited your father's misguided sense of honor. As for the thugs, I unlocked them and I put them back in, don't you think that I would have left that lot running lose for long. They should have been put under control, but Bishop is content to study them and put them in danger by putting them in a facility that is so easily breached. As for the Turtles, you're just collateral damage. After all of this time, I will have my revenge."

"We're heard this song and dance before, what makes you think you're succeed?" asked Leo as he tried to struggle but he found that it was impossible to break the straps.

"I've planned this for over fifteen years, I won't be denied this time, in fact, this will be the reason why I succeed," said Nega-Harry as he pressed a couple of buttons on a console device and a door rose up, to reveal a mirror, surrounded by several cables and magical energy swirling around it. More energy appeared to be flowing into the mirror. "I managed to create this interdimensional gateway, based on mostly my memories and a few additions of my own. The Hyperdrive, yes I stole it, was the perfect means to transmute energy into magic, with a little help of a machine powered by DNA that I took from Luther Malfoy when he was knocked out. Unfortunately, this city does not have a powerful magical source like Hogwarts to run an interdimensional gateway, but now, I can open a portal to any dimension I choose. Including that oblivion that it threw my mirror counterpart…"

"But I don't think it's a good idea to be saying these things, revealing your plan," said Adrenaline, who shook her head. It seemed like a very foolish thing to do.

"Normally, I wouldn't do this, but they won't be leaving here alive, especially these reptiles," said Nega-Harry as he turned to Adrenaline who shrugged. "I will allow you the final decisive victory over the Shadow Phantom, but right now, I want my victory."

Adrenaline responded with a nod, as she knew her time would come soon enough and it would be glorious when it happened.

"Now, I know you're curious of why you have been spared, other than the fact that you're not one of them," said Nega-Harry. "I could have just as easily not taken your word for it and dropped you down with the rest of them."

"Yes that thought did cross my mind," admitted Adrenaline in a grudging voice, as Nega-Harry turned to her. "So why did you do it?"

"Some things had to be done, for your protection, until I was ready to cleanse the world of all undesirable forces," responded Nega-Harry and Adrenaline responded with a calm understanding nod, wondering where this is going. "I had to put you with them for your own safety and protection, while blocking your memories, but they were just manipulated pawns. You ever notice how cold and distant your parents are, I assume."

"Well yeah, but I don't mind, they always buy me nice things so I don't care," responded Adrenaline. "I know they love me."

"They don't because they're not capable of emotion, being robots," responded Nega-Harry and Adrenaline gasped in shock, but while this seemed far fetched, it did explain a lot of things about her parents. "Your real father is here for you however and now wants you to take your rightful place, in helping change the universe, taking care of this world where I go back to my home dimension, to try and fix the damage that was caused when I was thrown into this scattered, twisted dimension. And your father is me."

Needless to say, this revelation floored Adrenaline, as the implications of this revelation completely hit her.

-

Harry moved down the sewers, the tracking blip on the Shadow Phantom's armor was growing stronger, as he limped forward. He sensed that his daughter was in danger and the fact that the entire city was blacked out, had caused some alarm bells. It had to be interdimensional travel and it could be anyone, as he got out of the sewers, on one leg, but a helicopter touched down on the ground. The light was very prominent in the blacked out city, as several commandos exited. Harry stood, hand on his wand, as Agent Bishop stepped out.

"Mr. Potter, please put the wand away, we're not here to cause trouble," said Bishop calmly but Harry refused to listen.

"If you're here, there can be nothing about trouble," said Harry. "The blackouts are happening, my daughter is missing, my brothers have been dragged in this, and I know you have information. However, if you're not going to give me that information, than get out. I'm on my last nerve regarding you, after what you've done."

"It is your right to know, Mr. Potter and I feel I have made a judgment of error in sending your daughter in there with those five, but the mastermind behind this, we're beginning to sense that it is someone really dangerous and someone that you thought was gone for good," said Bishop calmly. "There were a series of odd disturbances years ago…"

"What do you mean odd disturbances several years ago?" asked Harry as his eyebrow raised up. "I never heard anything about this."

Bishop stood across Harry, arms folded. The commandos fingered their weapons, preparing to pull the triggers but Harry just stared back at them, with the slightest hint of a triumphant expression on his face.

"Don't bother, I've already vanished the firing components of your little laser blasters," said Harry.

"On the ball as usual, Mr. Potter," responded Bishop with grudging respect as he looked at him but Harry just stared back, a calm, unfeeling expression on his face.

"Now, Bishop, you mentioned something about odd disturbances, I want to know exactly what is going on here, because if my guess is right, it puts the entire city in peril," said Harry and Bishop looked back at him, before he slowly nodded in response. "Okay, spill it Bishop, what's up."

"Years ago when you fought the powerful demon overlord known as Draxxor, he opened up a portal that intended to pull this planet into the Realm of Darkness, which you clearly know and despite the fact you shut the portal, it caused all sorts of interdimensional backwash and several portals opened up, for brief instances, it was pure luck that something got through but something did," answered Bishop and Harry stepped forward, but winced, as he had stepped down a little too hard on his leg for his liking. "An old enemy of yours if I'm not mistaken but…"

Bishop's wrist communicator went off at that precise moment and he held his hand up as Harry leaned forward.

"This had better be good, Stockman," responded Bishop in a calm voice.

"Oh, I think it's of interest, Agent Bishop, the entire city might be blacked out but since our scanners are on a separate source of power, we're picking up a magical influx of strange energy, in fact, the signature is nearly identical to that of the Hyperdrive," said Stockman. "It's driving power and…"

Suddenly, Stockman was cut off by a loud shockwave going through the city. Harry staggered backwards and several of the commandos were knocked nearly to the ground.

"Magic," muttered Harry. "Enough to punch a hole in the dimensional barriers and cause untold chaos if not directed properly."

"Precisely what I was afraid of," said Bishop as he looked at the wrist communicator before he spoke to Stockman. "Stockman, can your scanner pick up any portals or anything that might cause a dimensional anomaly."

"Yes, yes several, only remaining open for a second or two, but its just backwash of the power source," reported Stockman calmly. "The Hyper Drive is causing these dimensional rifts but enough power may be drawn to open up a larger opening in time and space. To where though and to why?"

"A mirror dimension," responded Bishop coldly and immediately Harry caught onto exactly what was going on and he hated having to deal with him again. It was only by a technicality he beat him last time and threw him in that void between dimensions.

"Keep your eyes out for anything strange, I have something I need to take care of," said Harry and without another word, he was gone, rushing towards the source of the tracking device that he left in the Shadow Phantom armor. His steps quickened, he was fully aware since it was left in one place, he may be walking straight into a trap but that was to be expected. Harry was ready for anything that his mirror counterpart but what being prepared be enough? He did not know and that quite frankly spooked him to a great degree.

-

"You're my father?" asked Adrenaline in a shocked voice and Grace realized the implications of that.

"That means that she's…my…mirror counterpart," said Grace in a shocked voice and Nega-Harry just turned to her, before he started to clap, slowly and loudly, before he bowed.

"No wonder it was so difficult to trap you, with wonderful leaps of deduction like that," commented Nega-Harry in a light voice. "Yes, I'm your father, as difficult as it would seem. You don't remember anything about me but your basic instincts are still the same. You've fought for justice, even though people would foolishly brand you to be a villain. Your counterpart is twisted, misguided, but you try and do the right thing, no matter how many times you fall flat on your face."

"Yes, that's right," stated Adrenaline and Grace responded by rolling her eyes. Yep, the clues fit perfectly, they were both vain and misguided, thinking they were heroes but in reality they really were not. "I'm all those things but I think I understand why I wasn't told. You wanted me to live a normal life…"

"Indeed, until you're ready, not with the pressures of being the daughter of the greatest wizard that ever lived," said Nega-Harry as he looked at his daughter with a smile. "A heroic avenger like myself can have some big shoes to fill…"

"Not to mention a big ego," muttered Raph but Nega-Harry ignored him.

"You grew into that role naturally," said Nega-Harry as he pulled his wand out and tapped it to Adrenaline's forehead. "I'm releasing your memories and your magic, which unlike certain people, you have the ability to control without doing a great harm to yourself and others."

He nodded towards Grace, who tried to vainly struggle to get out and Adrenaline felt her memories slowly returning to her and a strong warm feeling coming to her fingers. She smiled, she knew exactly what was happening and the fact she could do magic, while Grace Potter couldn't without killing herself or others, made it all worth while. The smirk on her face was self assured but her triumph was cut short by an alarm on the outside.

"Ah, we have company, I'd love to continue this family reunion, but there are scores to be settled and misguided mirror counterparts to eliminate," remarked Nega-Harry as he looked at Adrenaline. "Do keep an eye on these five and makes sure they don't escape. I'll deal with them later."

"Sure thing, Dad" remarked Adrenaline as she held the sonic weapon on the four Turtles and the Shadow Phantom, never bothering to take her eyes off of them, as Nega-Harry moved off, to meet his mirror counterpart. The Shadow Phantom attempted to twist. "Well, I guess it's the end, Potter, my Dad is going to beat up your Dad, and then I'm going to unmask you. So the question is, what are you going to do about that?"

"This," responded the Shadow Phantom calmly, as she turned her positioning slightly. "Shrink suit to locket now."

Suddenly, the suit shrank to a locket, which gave Grace just enough room to slip through the straps and she sprang up, knocking Adrenaline backwards with a kick. Adrenaline was staggered back and another kick rocked her. She bounced back up and grabbed Grace, before throwing her down to the ground. Adrenaline hammered a kick right into the ribs of Grace and picked her up, before throwing her right onto the operating table that she was strapped onto.

"You can't defeat me without your armor and now I can beat you easily," stated Adrenaline as Grace flipped up, before she kicked the operating table. It slid forward, smacking right into Adrenaline's stomach, knocking her down. Grace picked up Mikey's nunchucks that were laying on the floor and swung them but Adrenaline caught them and yanked them forward, before delivering an uppercut. Grace dropped to the floor, her lip cut from the impact. Adrenaline swung the nunchucks around, cracking them right against Grace's body several times. The sound of wood smacking against flesh and bone was sickening, and she dropped down. "I can keep this up all night, but as for you, you can't hold up too much longer. Without that tin can to protect you, you're just another thug on the street."

"And you're just another arrogant loudmouth with powers," said Grace as she flicked a metal disk from her sleeve. She had learned not to rely on the armor, to always have more tricks up her sleeve and the disc hooked to the chest of Adrenaline, before several thick metal cables held her place. She struggled and Grace turned over.

"Get us out of here, because this isn't that pleasant or really comfortable," grumbled Raph.

"Anyone know how," said Grace as she tried to pull the straps loose but that was no dice. She moved over to the control console and began to work with the buttons, hoping for anything, but she heard Adrenaline pull herself loose. Quickly, she picked up the sonic weapon that Adrenaline had dropped and pressed a button. Adrenaline screamed as she was blasted full force right in the head with the weapon, a loud ringing moving throughout her ears as she thumped right to the ground. She cursed herself for removing her ear plugs. That bought Grace some more time and she continued to attempt to figure out how to free the Turtles.

-

Harry walked inside the abandoned convenience store where the tracking signal had lead him. His guard was up for anything and suddenly a huge chain with a sickle swung at him by the ceiling. He just narrowly dodged the attack and it smashed into the wall. Harry moved around, looking up, before he saw lasers blasting. Holding his wand, he put up a shield charm and the lasers were deflected by the shield and he gimped over on one leg. Harry stepped around, his bad leg very nearly crumpling out from underneath him, as a net dropped down. He whipped his wrist, slicing the net to pieces. Suddenly another figure dropped down and Harry came face to face, with his mirror counterpart.

"So, it's you, you managed to return," said Harry calmly, but he had his hand on his wand and the other hand on his walking stick.

"Yes, no thanks to you, it was luck and a bit more trouble than I would have liked but I returned and now I will finish you off, at one time, I thought you could be educated on the right ways, but now you must be destroyed," responded Nega-Harry as he bowed. "You've lost more than a few steps, the great hero, bowed by age and injury, quite sad, but I'm not as nearly as foolish to reduce myself to such a pathetic state. I can defeat you easily now but perhaps I have misjudged you. You did dodge a few traps I put in place, so you still have a few more tricks up your sleeve."

"More than you could ever know," said Harry as he stood, hand on his wand, waiting for his twisted counterpart to make the first move. "I'll show you that I might have one more good fight in me yet…"

"Spare me the dramatics, you couldn't beat me when you were at the peak of your abilities, hero, and now that the sun has set on your life, you have even less of a chance to defeat me," responded Nega-Harry. "But, I'm nothing but a fair man and I will give you a chance to prove me wrong. Let us fight and see who the better warrior is. Let's fight and see who was right, one more time."

Harry responded by throwing a stunning spell at his mirror counterpart. He ducked and Nega-Harry sprung up, aiming his wand with a black light that ripped through the air. The Boy-Who-Lived blocked the attack and shot another attack back at Nega-Harry. The next two spells collided with each other in mid air, knocking both wizards off of their feet. The Dark Emperor got to his feet first, with Harry following, struggling, wincing. He felt the full impact of that one and he flicked a shuriken right at his enemy, but he quickly deflected it. It impacted the wall and caused a miniature expulsion, before Nega-Harry flipped over the back of his opponent. Both feet impacted and Harry did a flip forward, just narrowly avoiding being crippled by landing on the back of his neck. He dropped down, wincing, as Nega-Harry conjured a sword with his wand and swung it forward, but Harry blocked it with his walking stick.

"Weak, pathetic, useless as you always were, yet more so," remarked Nega-Harry, as he kicked his enemy in the ribs and deflected the walking stick with one blow. Another kick to the ribs and Harry crashed down, before the Dark Emperor grabbed the walking stick and swung it, cracking it right against his right knee. "This has lost all amusement for me, so I'm going to end it right now."

Nega-Harry pointed his wand, but quickly Harry threw a miniature disc. It exploded in mid air, causing the Dark Emperor to gag on the smoke that rose up and Harry gimped forward, before he swung a punch. Nega-Harry blocked it, but Harry sent a banishing charm right at him. The Dark Emperor smashed into a stack of shelves and Harry moved over, sending thick ropes but Nega-Harry sliced through them. This left him open for an attack from Harry, as he managed to deliver a partial back flip, wincing as he landed on his leg, but grabbing his mirror duplicate around the throat and throwing him down to the ground backwards. The Dark Emperor grabbed his sword but Harry used his wand to transfigure a broken shelf piece into one of his own. The two swords clanged together, sparks flying from the impact, as both versions of Harry Potter staggered, in an attempt to push each other back but the attacks remained at a stalemate. They were both at a stalemate and Harry's fatigue was obvious, his knee killed him, a sharp stabbing pain shot through the knee but he refused to give up. The same qualities that he used to defeat Voldemort, the Shredder, Draxxor, and many other enemies throughout the years was pushing through, and he knocked his counterpart down. Another swing and the sword was broken, before Nega-Harry was knocked backwards through a door that flung open. He landed on his feet, but he managed to grab a piece of pipe and swing it. A loud crack and Harry flopped to the ground, knee injured and all.

"I believe the second wind is over," said Nega-Harry but suddenly the four Turtles and Grace moved forward, ready for the fight and the Dark Emperor saw his daughter on the ground. He sprung forward, shielding his eyes, as he sliced a pipe. It released a thick cloud of green, non-lethal gas, before he picked up Adrenaline, hoisting him up and removing an amulet. He tapped it from his wand. "You've won this round but I will return."

"He's getting away," coughed Don as Harry got up, managing to push the smoke away from his wand.

"I've noticed," said Raph in a grumbling voice.

"Look on the bright side, he's left his little toy here for us to bust," said Mikey and Leo swung his swords, but they passed through the control of the portal.

"Hologram," grumbled Leo.

"It was a trick, we should have known he wouldn't have held the real thing here," said Grace and she saw her Dad, on the ground, moaning in agony. "Dad!"

"I'm fine," muttered Harry but the look on his face indicated that he was not fine. "I have to find him fight him…"

"Harry, you're in no condition to fight," said Leo and Harry looked at his brothers, really seeing them for the first time in many years and just slumped to the ground defeated.

"Get him out of here and to safety," said Grace but she frowned, as a small metallic disc was on the floor, just barely visible through the hologram. "Then get back here, this might back our only clue."

Grace picked up the disc, as the Turtles moved over. Harry attempted to stand on his feet on his own but it was the impossible task. He collapsed, barely able to move at all, his injuries beyond anything else that he had ever suffered. As much as she hated on relying on this man for help, Agent Bishop was perhaps the only one who might be able to give her a clue on what that was. He would need to be contacted at any rate to pick up the four captured members of the Fiendish Five and take them away to there holding cells. She just hoped for the sake of the city that they could be kept in place this time, because of all the damage they suffered. She watched as the Turtles moved backward, now that they had helped her, it were uncertain where they would go from here. Only time would tell and would properly heal the wounds of what had happened in the place. Right now, Grace made a movement to contact Agent Bishop, to see what he could tell her about this small metallic disc she found if anything at all.

-

"Extremely interesting, a bunch of these devices were stolen by Zixx," said Stockman as he looked them over. Right now Wraith, Slash, Jammerhead, and Master Magic had been moved back to their cells in the Earth Protection Force prison, where they would hopefully stay without a problem this time. "I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but if that mirror universe nutcase has them, we may never find the Hyper Drive."

"Exactly what are they?" asked Grace. "Because after you nearly got me killed against those five nutcases, you do owe me an explanation."

"Well there really isn't much explained, except they are a useful and rather frustrating tool that he could use with the proper programming to mask the energy signature given off by the Hyper Drive," said Bishop in a calm voice. "They belonged to one of the many alien races that visited this planet over the years and we confiscated them. Zixx managed to swipe them when they were being moved for disposal when we found them to be potentially unstable and corrosive after a long period of time."

"Why would he want something that dangerous?" asked Grace.

"No telling, but I'd imagine he fixed that little defect and is now using them to hide the real location, perhaps even finding a way to drum up some fake dimension anomalies on the way," responded Stockman.

"Rest assure, we are doing all we can to find out where he really has that interdimensional portal hidden and find a way to destroy it, but the fact he explained to you what he done in great detail is rather intriguing," said Bishop. "It could be to have us looking in the wrong direction or he could be so blatant that's exactly what happened. He'll keep us guessing, with that mirror evil, you should expect the unexpected."

"I plan to, this isn't over yet," said Grace more to herself than Bishop.

"I'd imagine not, but you're dismissed for this evening, after what he did to your father, I believe you deserve some rest, the four are locked up, I can't imagine a situation where he would ever use them again, the one he wanted is still out and about, but we will do all we can to bring her in," said Bishop calmly. "You have my word."

Grace nodded, even though his word didn't really mean all that much to her.

-

Adrenaline sat up on the couch, groaning, as she tried to remember. Than it came to her, the Shadow Phantom, Grace Potter, defeated her again.

"I wouldn't sit up too fast, you haven't been completely healed," said Nega-Harry as he looked over his daughter, before he made a few small calibrations. "That fool Bishop is running all over the city looking for the portal, misdirected every way, when I have the real thing hidden in a building under the Fidelius Charm. It is a stroke of brilliance if I do say so myself."

"It is Dad, but I still want to finish her off," said Adrenaline.

"You shall, in time, but right now I believe, yes I have it, I sent a message, if this is timed right, my armies should come through the portal, as loyal to me as they were the day I left," said Nega-Harry as he pulled one more switch. The portal lit up, before a light shot up in the air. "Small temporal glitch but no matter, it's properly calibrated otherwise, now to bring forth my legions into the world, to fix the problems that my distorted counterpart caused."

The portal was full power and several shadowed figures stepped from the portal, that the Dark Emperor recognized his elite ninja assassins. They stopped in surprise and bowed before him. He still had his army, maybe not as strong and numerous as they were in times past.

Still enough to destroy his distorted mirror counter part along with his wife and daughter and those accursed Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.


	22. Chapter 22: Walk Straight

**Chapter Twenty Two: Walk Straight**

"Lecturing you about picking a fight with him is useless at this point, I just wish you would have told me, so I could have helped," said Ginny with a frown as she looked at Harry, who was laid up in Lily's basement, after suffering the horrific beating at the hands of his mirror counterpart. "I could have been there for you…"

"You could have, you always are but it took a lot for me to admit his existence and now the fact he's back, trying to open up a portal to his own dimension spells doom for me and the rest of the world," said Harry in a weakened voice. "Grace told me everything, about how he was trying to get back in that world and that entire mess with Draxxor and the Realm of Darkness, it caused him to escape the prison I put him in. Now that he's back, I don't know how to stop him, at the most I could try and stall him but it's not something I can keep up for long. He's escaped the dimensional void before and I know I would be taking all the steps necessary not to go back, no matter what."

"Just when we thought our life was pretty much easy, it got more complicated," said Ginny as she looked at Harry, they were both tap dancing around the subject with expert precision that their daughter was the Shadow Phantom. It was something they both knew and felt it needed no discussions. Harry had done all he could to protect Grace, she was truly his daughter, in the fact that she would never give up without a fight. Still with what happened over the past few days, he wished she could. "Leave your mirror counterpart to Bishop."

"That's really going to put me at ease, it's his technology that got us into this mess in the first place, he can pull any number of things out of that portal should he choose and I believe he does have a working model somewhere, but the question is where," responded Harry as he just leaned back. "I better rest, I can't fight him injured, the damn leg's acting up again, if only it was my leg."

"It will be alright Harry," said Ginny as she sat by her husband's side, with a worried look on her face and for good reason. She knew Harry would go out before he was one hundred percent healed or at least as close to one hundred percent. He suffered some minor head trauma in his battle with Nega-Harry that was a cause of concern as well and she could only wait to see what happened next. It would not be good and there was the matter that their daughter, who was hopefully in bed, was probably as restless as her father.

-

"This military court is now in session, for Steven Torbin, also known as the alien mercenary and black market technology traitor known as Zixx," said the cold voice of Bishop. "We have reviewed your case and found that our evidence, while solid in many cases, is lacking to hold you here long enough. We feel it is unwise to invite the presence of the many alien races who would be after you as well. Therefore, the Earth Protection Force has no choice but to grant you a full and clear release, providing a couple of conditions."

"Name them, I made a mistake," said Zixx in what he hoped to be a winning voice and he could not help but be smug that Bishop had bought it. "I just want to make right with all I'm done."

"I'm certain," responded Bishop in a crisp voice as he looked at Zixx, as two commandos stepped forward, grabbing his arms, while a third strapped an ankle bracelet to him. He looked up in a confused look on his face. "I don't have to tell you what will happen if you step outside the city limits with that bracelet on. You are barred from leaving New York City. The second precaution is that you tell me everything you know about your benefactors, along with any other black market trades of alien technology going on New York City. Then you will be free to go and the bracelet will come off if you prove yourself worthy within the next six months. Is that understood?"

"Right, Agent Bishop, anything to do to prove myself," said Zixx, who had an idea on what he could do to disable the ankle bracelet without blowing to bits, if he could only convince her to help him after what happen. "Now, there are several potential people, names are a bit sketchy, but I do have a few places where I've seen some shady deals going down, I'm sure this information, combined with what you already know will bring these people in."

"Very well, Zixx, let's here what you have," said Bishop and Zixx nodded, ready to eliminate the competition with a few well placed words.

-

Grace Potter could not sleep, the last day had been one to remember, but quite frankly she wished she could forget it. The legendary Turtles had reunited, but whether that would stick, she could not even begin to guess. They had some issue to iron out and were doing so right now, at the old lair. She left them to it. Her mother was with her father and she was in the city, dressed as the Shadow Phantom, keeping an eye out for anything strange, about her father's demented doppelganger.

A loud crash echoed as she dropped down. A government building was being broken into and the door was blown off of its hinges. She moved inside, where a trio of teenage punks were moving forward, opening up a crate, with vials of a thick black tar like substance.

"Man, this stuff is great," cackled one of the teenagers.

"Get that stuff ready Speedball," responded the second teenager rolling her eyes slightly.

"Right, right, coming right up, Shockwave," responded Speedball as he snapped his fingers, giggling like a hyena on crack. "Slam, you know what to do now."

A teenager, the largest one, picked up the crates with little effort, but that gave the Shadow Phantom the chance to swing in.

"Isn't it a bit past curfew for you, children?" asked the Shadow Phantom in a mock motherly voice.

"Yeah, who's going to stop us, you?" cackled Speedball as he tucked his head, before he rolled around, propelled himself in a somersault roll, like the speed of light. The Shadow Phantom was knocked right into the wall, where she landed with a loud thump. She pulled herself up and shot a net right at Speedball who dodged out of the way. Slam gave a grunt, before he rushed forward. The Shadow Phantom swung her hand but it bounced off of his thick chest. She felt her bones rattle as Slam picked her up. Slam threw her down to the ground. She fell as Speedball looked at her, a crazed expression on his face. "Shockwave, rock her world."

"It will be my pleasure," said Shockwave as she curled her blond hair, staring at the Shadow Phantom with contempt through her ice cold eyes, as she slammed her hands down onto the ground. The warehouse shook and the Shadow Phantom was caught off guard as she fell through the floor. "Come on you two dimwits, move it, before she gets up."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, no need to get so bossy," said Speedball in his hyperactive voice but Slam just stood there, arms folded, not speaking.

"That's my job, because Doomquest put me in charge," remarked Shockwave in a superior tone of voice, a smile appearing on her lips at the thought of power, as the three teenagers walked off, laughing at the job they did on the Shadow Phantom, as Slam carried the stolen goods out with the greatest of ease.

The Shadow Phantom pulled herself out of the large hole, nearly collapsing forward, as the side throbbed and she was dizzy. Still there were no real injuries, unless she counted the ones to her pride. She limped forward, wincing with each step, but it would pass. She still wanted to know what those three punks were up to but it would be something that she would have to tackle come the morning. Right now, all she needed was rest and relaxation.

-

Zixx moved forward, walking through the shadows. That ankle bracelet was driving him insane, but he knew the slightest tamper and it could blow him all the way to New Jersey. He needed someone who had access to dealing with such devices and he knew that Grace would be able to help him disable his little ankle bracelet. He walked forward, stepping through the shadows, wondering if he read the note that explained the necessity of his work. Right now, he moved through the shadows, he had certain debts that still needed to be paid and he hoped that he would not be caught up. He climbed up the side of the Potter residence with cat like agility, before he moved towards the window. It was locked, but Steven Torbin, alias, Zixx, attempted to pry open the window, in an attempt to get inside. He removed a small file and managed to pry open the window to step inside. He knew this was Grace's room but as the door opened, he turned around. If he had ran into the girl's father, he might as well have been dead but unfortunately, it was only Grace, who looked pained for some reason. She stopped and screamed in shock at the image in the shadow but Steven put his hand forward, cupping it right over her mouth.

"It's me, Grace, honestly," whispered Steven and he saw her eyes snap open in recognition and anger as well. "So, how have you been?"

At this moment, he removed his hand from Grace's mouth and Grace looked at him, hands on her hips, shocked that he had the pure audacity to walk back into her life as calmly as he pleased and just asked her how she was doing.

"How am I doing? How am I doing?" asked Grace as she looked at Steven. "Listen, my Dad's in the hospital after he got a bit of a beating tonight and now you show up. Two months ago, you were thrown into an Earth Protection Force prison because you had been stealing technology and selling it on the black market. Then you show up tonight, please tell me you didn't escape."

"Bishop let me out," said Steven calmly.

"I know Bishop as does my father and he would never just let someone out," responded Grace in an irritated voice.

"No, he let me out, on the condition I rat some people out and I have made a lot of new friends because of that, there are some new guests of the Earth Protection Force prisons as of tomorrow morning and he put this little ankle bracelet on me," said Steven as he looked at Grace. "As you can tell, it's not the latest fashion statement for sure."

"A tracking device, equipped with a remote control explosive charge," answered Grace, who had used similar tracking technology, albeit a bit less obvious, as the Shadow Phantom. "Bishop wanted to keep you from doing anything wrong and skipping town."

"You read my note, I take it," said Steven.

"No, I tossed it away, I thought you would be locked up for a long time and never thought I needed to bother with you ever again," responded Grace, as she looked at Steven, who was trying to give her an innocent look but the hot tempered girl was not buying it for a second. "I don't know if I could ever trust you again, after what you pulled. I trusted you and I don't give my trust that easily. You decided to take that and spit on that."

"Grace, listen to me, there were circumstances, I had to do some things but mostly I was set up," said Steven who decided to give her as much of the truth as possible, even if it was a completely distorted half truth. "The Triceratons, they set me up."

"The Triceratons?" asked Grace in a skeptical voice.

"Yeah, they wanted to use me as a decoy, you don't know the universe out there, it's full of people who are willing to use Earth as an outpost for their activities, the Triceraton Homeworld has been overthrown and split into territories ruled by Triceraton Gangsters," answered Steven, which the truth. "It's not the government it once was, they are torn to bits."

"Really, I should buy this, why?" asked Grace.

"We were dating, you know, I thought you could have given me the benefit of the doubt," said Steven with a sigh as he looked at Grace, with a smile. "You're right, I don't deserve this, Bishop can just use me as a puppet, an attack dog, to ferret out any alien technology, even after all of what we shared. An innocent man mind you."

Grace was conflicted. On the other hand, she was betrayed by what Steven did, his crimes as Zixx and the fact that she had overheard him calling her foolish, under the guise of the Shadow Phantom. On the other hand, she was fully aware of the manipulations of Agent Bishop and knew that he would use Steven to achieve his ends. Still, the fact remained that she had this sense that Steven was withholding something on her.

"So, are you going to figure out a way to help me remove this little ankle bracelet?" asked Steven. "I'm sure a smart, driven, girl such as yourself could find a way to help me out. Your Dad does work with this technology often, surely there must be something about his databases. Why don't we head there right now…"

"No, after what you've done, no matter how much of a puppet you might have been, I'm not letting you anywhere near those computers," said Grace firmly, as she looked at Steven, who was shocked and looked hurt. "You can take that look off your face too, I'm not going to believe you without some concrete proof."

"Will the Triceratons floating outside of your window with laser blasters convince you, Grace?" asked Steven and Grace just responded with a snicker, as if she was dubious, but a group of Triceraton gangsters with laser blasters were on a hoverboard outside the window. "GET DOWN!"

Steven shoved Grace to the ground as a grenade flew through the window he opened. A loud explosion echoed throughout the Potter residence, caving the floor in, as the Triceratons entered the room, with foul expressions on their face and pointing their laser blasters, blasting towards them as the smoke cleared.

"GRACE!" shouted Steven in a shocked voice, but she was nowhere to be found, as the Triceratons moved forward. "You put an innocent person in the crossfire, for what reason?"

"She couldn't have been too innocent, if she was with you, Zixx," grunted one of the Triceraton as he swung a punch but he somersaulted over the attack and rocked him with a kick. Another kick rocked him and a third kick but Zixx was knocked to the ground, where the Triceratons moved in to contain their foe.

-

In catacombs underneath New York City, the trio of Shockwave, Speedball, and Slam walked forward, moving towards a shadowed figure deep underneath the city.

"Lord Doomquest we have what you've requested, but why do you need all these chemicals?" asked Shockwave.

"Yeah, what's the four one one on this whole thing," said Speedball and Shockwave just smacked him across the back of the head. "What did I do?"

"You have done well my children, my X-Raiders," responded Doomquest in a creepy voice. "You were nothing but lost, misfits, outcasts of society, but I gave you great powers and abilities beyond everything. Now you work for me, always forever but I believe the price of freedom outweighs the costs."

"Yeah, no kidding, who needs a soul when we have power," cackled Speedball.

"As for your inquiry about the chemicals, I'm close to bringing my forces to this dimension and conquering this world, but my legions of shadow demons require certain elements to thrive in the corrosive environment known as Earth, if they had gone there now, they would have burst into dust within seconds," said Doomquest. "Even my power is not enough to sustain them for more than a few moments and I have other problems on my mind. Now, you did not run into any problems, in getting the chemicals."

"The Shadow Phantom, we ran into her but it's no prob, she dropped down a level," said Shockwave but Doomquest looked very angry at this.

"I should have known I would have deal with her, but she is nothing. A minor annoyance, not something that my X-Raiders can't handle, in fact I have an old debt for you to settle," responded Doomquest in a cold indifferent voice. "It is come to my notice from my other agents on that primitive world that Zixx has been released from Earth Protection Force custody. He must be eliminated, he had skipped out on a deal once before and sold the alien technology that I required to a higher buyer. Doomquest does not forget. Eliminate him and ensure the Shadow Phantom is as well. Do you hear me?"

"It will be done, Master," said Shockwave as she looked at her fellow X-Raiders. "Come on you two, we have another job to do tonight."

Speedball nodded in an hyperactive manner and Shockwave just cracked his knuckles, before they walked off, as the shadowed image of Doomquest disappeared. Soon he would return and gain his vengeance on the entire Potter family. Many would pay for what had happened and all of humanity would be enslaved by his will.

-

"Can't we talk this over?" asked Zixx but one of the Triceratons just grabbed him around the head. Before his skull could be crushed, the form of the Shadow Phantom swung in, kicking the Triceraton in the back. The Triceraton flew forward, smashing against the dresser, reducing it into toothpicks. One of the Triceratons charged forward, but she tripped him up. The saurian alien flew out the window, where he landed on the pavement with a splat below. He struggled to his feet and the Shadow Phantom kicked another Triceraton back, throwing him to the ground, before she shot a net at the other alien.

"Figures there would be trouble, with you in the middle of it, Zixx," responded the Shadow Phantom.

"Grace Potter, she got knocked down, is she okay?" asked Zixx, as he helped the Shadow Phantom take down a Triceraton, who thumped to the ground, stunned.

"She's fine, I got her to safety, lucky I happened to be patrolling in this neighborhood," responded the Shadow Phantom as a Triceraton was knocked out of the window with an amplified punch but the remaining Triceratons were moving. "We need to lose these guys, until we can divide and conquer. Hang on."

She gripped Zixx, as she shot the grappling hook out of her armor. It latched onto a street post and she swung, before landing down the street. The Triceratons had to drop down to give chase and this allowed her several clear shots, knocking them down. Zixx managed to hoist up a manhole cover and the Triceraton was smacked right in the face, knocked down to the ground. The Shadow Phantom flipped over, before he was kicked in the back and he fell to the ground with a thud. A net wrapped the final Triceraton around a lamppost and she turned to Zixx, angry.

"What was that all about?" demanded the Shadow Phantom. "Triceratons don't just attack neighborhoods at random, especially considering the fact that they seemed like they were after you."

"They were after me, I might have stiffed them on a business deal, but I would I know that the motherboard would be a defect," responded Zixx in a defensive voice. "I never imagined they would come after me and I never meant to put anyone in danger. This isn't really anything personal, just business, I have my reasons for doing this, just like you have your reasons for being a do-gooder."

"You stiffed them on a business deal, so you weren't being set up or anything," said The Shadow Phantom.

"No, I wasn't really, I just told Grace that to get her off my back," said Zixx, who was blissfully unaware how close he was being punched in the face by lying to her. "Just don't worry about it, I think we have all of them, given that Bishop is keeping an eye on me anyway, his Earth Protection Force people will be on their way."

"Yes, I'm sure they will and I hope they take you with them, because you're doing nothing but endangering people," answered The Shadow Phantom in an agitated tone of voice and Zixx did not have a proper time to respond, before a blur rolled forward and struck him down to the ground. The Shadow Phantom looked up and the large beefy fist of Slam knocked her down to the ground. Shockwave stepped forward, with a smirk on her face, before she lifted her hands and pressed them onto the ground. The ground vibrated below them, effecting their balance and that allowed Speedball to move it, knocking both the Shadow Phantom and Zixx around, before Slam mowed them both down like they were nothing. The two laid on the ground, wincing in pain.

"Well, it looks like she's not as dead as we would have liked," stated Shockwave.

"We can fix that right away, for the master," cackled Speedball as he rubbed his hands together and a large glowing orange fireball rose up, before he pitched it and aimed it right towards the Shadow Phantom, who managed to duck out of the way.

"Who are these people?" demanded the Shadow Phantom, as she avoided the vibrations emitted by Shockwave, as Zixx ducked the attack from Slam, who ripped a light post from the ground and swung it like a baseball bat. It was just by the merest of instances where he ducked the attack.

"Why do you think I know?" asked Zixx.

"Because you seem to know all of the dirt bags in this city," responded the Shadow Phantom as Shockwave clapped her hands together and loud sonic vibrations impacted the air. While her helmet protected her from the attacks, she was knocked down to the ground from the impact and Shockwave moved up, her hand vibrating, before she swung. It impacted the armor of the Shadow Phantom but she slid underneath another attack.

"The truth is, I don't know who these punks are," said Zixx as he aimed a kick but it bounced off of the bulbous frame of Slam and Slam picked up Zixx, before throwing him to the ground. He bounced up and Speedball rolled right into him, knocking Zixx right into a parked car.

"Who are we?" asked Speedball as he spun his arms, sending several miniature blasts of ball shaped energy right at the Shadow Phantom, who ducked and dodged. They were magic and nothing like she had ever read about anywhere. "We are the people that the world has given up on, the people who could never be anything."

"Yes, while you toil around with hard work to gain your abilities, we didn't have whatever opportunities you did, therefore, we got true power," said Shockwave as the ground vibrated, but this time, the Shadow Phantom had the presence of mind to activate the propulsion devices, blasting her up and away. Zixx moved forward, but he was knocked down by a shockwave cutting through the air. The Shadow Phantom dropped down and cranked up the sonic blasters on her suit and shot the energy beams at Shockwave, but she blocked them. "Not only do I have the power to create sonic vibrations and earthquakes, but I'm immune to them as well."

"Are you immune to this?" asked the Shadow Phantom as she flung a shuriken at Shockwave but she just snapped her fingers and it vibrated into dust, right before it reached her. Shockwave dove up but the Shadow Phantom dodged, as she slammed her hands into the ground. The street cracked and quickly the Shadow Phantom impacted her feet down across the back of the neck of Shockwave. Shockwave fell through the street and appeared to be out of the fight. That was, until she blasted through the street from a second vibration.

"You see, nothing you can do can stop me," said Shockwave.

"Or us, don't forget us," said Speedball, but a loud bang and several metallic rings snapped around him. "Hey no fair, I wasn't ready."

"Congratulations, you just nailed the least powerful of the three," said Shockwave, as she looked bored and sent another attack but the Shadow Phantom ducked it. "Your little suit may be guarded against sonic vibrations but the world around you isn't. You're run out of places to go eventually and then I'll have you, for Doomquest."

"Ah a name, to go with the pain," responded the Shadow Phantom but Shockwave seemed angry, as Zixx dodged Slam throwing a car at him. He dove up and hit Slam as hard as he could, but only succeeded in breaking every bone in his hand. Slam lifted up Zixx and heaved him to the ground. "Who is this Doomquest?"

"None of your business, do gooder," responded Shockwave, as her powers were a little less controlled with her emotions not being in check. Another blast but it was awkward and nearly knocked Shockwave off of her feet.

"I don't even know why someone like that would hire a bunch of rank amateurs like you anyway," taunted the Shadow Phantom. "You got how many shots and you've yet to finish the job against me. Come on, you got power, why don't you properly use it. Hit me with your best shot?"

Zixx moved as Slam dove forward and he had a sense of what the Shadow Phantom was doing. He decided it would be best to follow her lead, perhaps they could kill one overly sized bird.

"Come on, you overly muscle lunk head, I can't believe you haven't taken me out but I guess all of the muscles have blocked out the ability to use your brain," said Zixx, but he favored his injured hand. Slam stomped forward and swung right at Zixx, but Zixx moved. On the other end, the Shadow Phantom dodged the attacks, in an attempt to divert Shockwave away from the houses off to either side at the same time. "Catch me if you can you big overgrown gorilla, I bet you can't hit me."

"That was so close, yet so pathetically far," taunted the Shadow Phantom as she leapt of the way and she heard Slam stampeding towards Zixx behind her. Shockwave angrily launched another sonic vibration attack. "This Doomquest, he must be pathetic if you're the best he has to offer."

"I'll show you what I have to offer, you annoying little cockroach," responded Shockwave but both Zixx and the Shadow Phantom jumped out of the way. The blast impacted Slam, who had been lifted off the ground and impacted right through three trees. He fell to the ground, knocked loopy. The Shadow Phantom set a net at Shockwave but she caught it, before she vibrated it into nothing. "I admit, that was clever, but you couldn't beat me no matter what."

"We'll see about that," said the Shadow Phantom but Zixx moved forward and dove right towards Shockwave. Shockwave caught Zixx with a punch, causing him to be knocked to the ground with a thump. The Shadow Phantom dove up but Shockwave blasted her out of the air.

"You nearly caused me to lose control of my powers but while Speedball and Slam have been taken out, I remain upright," remarked Shockwave as she clapped her hands together and once again, shockwaves cut through the air, shattering the sides of buildings and causing concrete and glass in every direction. The Shadow Phantom dodged the attacks and Zixx was knocked down, but she propelled herself up, before she placed her hands over the back of Shockwave. Suddenly, Shockwave's very body vibrated and caused the Shadow Phantom to be launched off, slamming down on the hood of a parked car. "You just won't give up, will you?"

"No, it's what I do," said the Shadow Phantom as she activated the propulsion devices, were her lying on the car and she slid forwards, her feet cracking right into Shockwave. She was temporarily knocked to the ground but Shockwave pulled herself up, where several metallic rings shock at her. They snapped her place, hooking her to the side of a building. Shockwave struggled but could not escape.

The moment she began to vibrate to shake herself loose had proven to be her undoing. The bricks were knocked loose but she was remained in place by the rings. The wall collapsed on her. The bricks vibrated slightly, but there was only a feeble groan. The Shadow Phantom stepped forward, breathing a sigh of relief, as she looked around, but Speedball and Slam were both gone. Stepping forward, she pushed a few bricks away and Shockwave was gone as well. It was like the three had never been there in the first place.

"Don't look at me," remarked Zixx but the Triceratons they knocked out were still there and the Earth Protection Force helicopter touched down, with Bishop moving forward.

"Excellent work, Mr. Torbin, you have serve your purpose nicely," said Bishop.

"What purpose?" asked the Shadow Phantom.

"I had release our young friend in an attempt to lure Triceraton gangsters in the city out in the open, to collect one of the many outstanding bounties that the Triceratons have on this deviant," responded Bishop.

"You mean I'm not free?" asked Zixx.

"Not today, perhaps someday you will be let out again to play," said Bishop.

"I won't fall for the same trick twice, Bishop," said Zixx as he moved forward but Bishop fingered a remote control device in his hand. The Shadow Phantom looked, while she was angry at being lied to, she still felt a bit angry at Bishop for using Steven in such a way. The commandos grabbed Steven, and rounded up the Triceratons, before leading them all off.

"So you just used him as bait," stated the Shadow Phantom.

"Yes, but don't cry too much, he has crimes he has to answer for," said Bishop coolly.

"Fine, but these super powered teenagers attacked me tonight and they said they were working for someone known as Doomquest," said the Shadow Phantom. "Do you know this Doomquest?"

"No, he is an unknown party, but I thank you for the information, he may be a threat to the earth, good night, Miss Potter," said Bishop calmly and he left Grace out in the streets, which were a mess after the battle with Shockwave, Slam, and Speedball, questions buzzing through her head.


	23. Chapter 23: Doomquest Part One

_****Pops from Oblivion ala the Shredder****_

**I LIVE! AND LET THE ENTIRE WORLD TREMBLE BEFORE MY UPDATES! **

**Chapter Twenty Three: Doomquest Part One**

The city of New York was quiet on Friday evening and the exact cover that a group of carefully skilled ninjas needed to slip inside a government institution. Nega-Harry and Adrenaline watched as one of the ninja's had picked the lock with his Sai and pried the door open. Once they were in, they could lock down the entire city, leaving it easily open.

"Quite efficient if I do say so myself," answered Nega-Harry as Adrenaline just crossed her arms, before nodding. "I noticed you were experimenting with the new wand. It's not the best but…"

"It's good enough for me, but Dad, can I ask you a question?" asked Adrenaline and her father responded with a nod of her forehead. "Why are your people sneaking around? Shouldn't we be doing something to draw the Shadow Phantom out so I can defeat her? I understand what you might be doing is important but at the same time, you promised…"

"Andrea, I know it's frustrating that we don't get what we want but patience is something we all must exercise, with Agent Bishop and his commandos swarming the city, looking for any traces of a portal to try to stop it, even though it is quite too late, I want something to keep them distracted, to keep them from getting in the way of us attacking bigger fish," responded Nega-Harry and Adrenaline nodded. "If it had not been for circumstances, I would have finished my counterpart and believe me, that will happen before long, just like you will unmask the Shadow Phantom in due time and take your rightful place as the city's number one heroine."

"I understand but it looks like we're not the only one's out this late breaking into government buildings," responded Adrenaline and Nega-Harry spun around, as he looked forward and sure enough, a group of clad figures moved forward. His eyes narrowed, when he recognized the symbol on their uniforms, the sign of the Foot. He had slaughtered all of the Foot back in his home dimension and kept the Shredder magically lobotomized as a deterrent against future Foot operations. "You know them."

"All too well, leave it to my twisted counterpart to not clean up the messes he should, they're going to ruin my operations," responded Nega-Harry before he turned to his daughter with a smile and a nod. "Of course, this is a mess that might have been the Shadow Phantom's responsibility to clean up, so now it's yours it looks like."

"Right, that's what I'm going to do that," said Adrenaline in a smug voice but Nega-Harry grabbed his daughter's wrist, before shaking his head. In an instant, he removed a smoke bomb from the pocket of his robes, tapped it with his wand, and released it, before a cloud of smoke screened their entrance in the building.

"Let's go," whispered Nega-Harry as they slipped inside the door that was about to close. A sleepy guard walked by, not realizing that two groups of ninjas had slipped right inside of his government facility.

-

"Alright Techno-Mages, get to the control room, we're going to send a message to the Shadow Phantom so we can lure her into a trap to destroy her as payment for slaughtering our master, certain honor dictates it," remarked Khan as one of them lit up his wand, which turned into a key and it twisted into the opening, before it clicked open and entranced them, but they were greeted by a group of ninjas. "What's this?"

"You're too leave now, or you will perish," said one of the ninjas, a female, in a soft voice, as they withdrew their weapons, all sharp and ready to skew anything.

"Foolish warriors, we have magic and you have those puny little blades that went out of fashion with the twentieth century," responded Khan with a bullish laugh as he lifted a large staff, where a blade of pure magical energy erupted from it, sparks flying everywhere. "We will show you who the mighty warriors in this world are."

Khan rushed forward with his blade but one of the ninjas leapt out of the way. The others moved around, as several daggers were shot from the makeshift wands, but they were deflected back. The Techno-Mages were uncertain on how to deal with these foes but they kept up, sending blasts of magical energy but several razor sharp blades came down and sliced their wands in half. Miniature magical explosions sent sparks in every direction when the blades punctured the wands and the next direction for the blades were the chests of the former Techno-Mages, before the ninjas moved, kicking at them but the second wave of Techno-Mages were on their guard more than the first. The battle continued to be evenly matched, as Khan knocked several of his opponents to the ground with expert precision. Several ninjas thumped to the ground but as Khan raised his blade, a pair of feet knocked him in the chest, sending him backwards into a control console. Khan rose to his feet and a loud bang echoed, before he was tied in ropes where he could not move. He looked up to see Adrenaline and Nega-Harry. His face contorted into an ugly scowl as Nega-Harry raised his wand in the air and the wands lifted from the Techno-Mages.

"I believe you will no longer disgrace the fine art of magic with your pitiful imitations," responded Nega-Harry as all of the ninjas bowed before their Dark Emperor before he picked up Khan's staff and effortlessly broke it over his knee. A Techno-Mage tried to get behind him but a concealed dagger up his sleeve caught him right in the chest. He dropped to the ground, blood splattering from his chest. Another attack had knocked another Techno-Mage down, causing the back of his head to whiplash and his neck to snap.

"Now, I believe you know what to do, annihilate them all," said Nega-Harry as his warriors walked forward, as the Techno-Mages stepped backwards. They gave a scream, as blades plunged right into their chests. Adrenaline moved around, watching as her father surveyed his warrior's handiwork. More of the Techno-Mages dropped down, as Khan watched in horror, his master's dynasty being ripped down piece by piece. "I believe it is your turn."

Nega-Harry moved forward, but before he could do the deed, a large silvery fist struck him right in the face, causing him to spiral down to the ground. He bounced down to the ground and looked up in shock at the person who had attacked him.

"Master?" asked Khan in shock unable to believe his eyes. "But I thought you had perished."

"A foolish notion on your part Khan, I have not perished, I remain living and breathing, to return to this disgrace, my Techno-Mages slaughtered by this distorted image of one of my greatest enemies," said the Shredder in a crazed voice as Nega-Harry struggled to find his way to his feet. "This matter will be rectified immediately for he will not be leaving here alive."

"Yes, you're impressive, once you cheap shot someone when they aren't expecting it," answered Nega-Harry as he removed his wand and pointed it towards the Shredder. "Let's see how well you are in a straight up fight."

He sent a spell right towards the Shredder but a shield appeared right around his armor and deflected it right back at Nega-Harry. He managed to cushion his fall but the Shredder dove right at him. He barely blocked the spiked gauntlets with his dagger and pushed him backwards, causing the Shredder to step back. Two chains shot forward and wrapped around the Shredder's arms, but he twisted outwards, sending Nega-Harry spiraling to the ground. He landed on the ground once again with a loud thud and the Shredder rushed forward, before he impacted the toe of his foot right into the chest of Nega-Harry. Nega-Harry was ripped up by his hair and slammed right into the wall. The Shredder raised his gauntlet but Nega-Harry kicked off on him, causing him to spiral backwards but he landed right back up, before he bounced back up. The two opponents circled each other, with the Shredder aiming another attack but Nega-Harry managing to use his opponent's momentum against him. The Shredder crashed down to the ground but he bounced back up, ready to attack.

"Foolish insect, I am more powerful than you may remember, I'm indestructible, you can't destroy me," responded the Shredder in a loud voice and Nega-Harry just dodged behind him, when he was ranting. A somersault put him right back in front of the Shredder and a kick to the face but the Shredder only staggered back a few inches. Nega-Harry pulled himself up on a chain, before he swung forward, and knocked the Shredder down, before he snapped his fingers. His ninjas dove at the Shredder, blades drawn and began their attempts to hack the Shredder to pieces. The Shredder fought but he gave a loud grunt, as several blades hacked him at once. The healing charms built into his skin and the durability of his armor was being tested but he fought back, plunging his blade forward against any target that moved. Several ninjas thumped to the ground, but Nega-Harry dove forward, before he wrapped his hands around the throat of the Shredder. The Shredder struggled, as Nega-Harry attempted to put all of the pressure necessary but the evil ninja swung his attack, causing Nega-Harry to crash towards the ground. Shredder dove forward and sliced his blade but Nega-Harry moved. The blade connected with one of the support beams of the room. Nega-Harry moved around, his back towards the other blade, but the Shredder kicked him right in the chest, knocking him to the ground. "Fool, I shall not fall for that trick this time. The only thing that will fall, is you."

The Shredder pounded Nega-Harry with three punches in succession, rocking him and causing him crumple to the ground. Nega-Harry still hand one more trick up his sleeve, a sliding kick to the knee, but it was in vain. He was hoisted up but Adrenaline leapt in, before she caught the Shredder with a kick to the back. The Shredder landed on his feet and bounced up, before he sent a swipe of his blade at Adrenaline.

"Foolish girl, you can't defeat me," said the Shredder but Adrenaline rolled out of the way, before she ran up the wall and flipped behind the Shredder. The Shredder turned and got a kick right into the face. He landed into a stack of crates and Adrenaline dove forward but the Shredder dodged out of the way. Adrenaline bounced up and Nega-Harry removed a grenade from his robe, before he lobbed it. It latched right onto the Shredder's leg and it sent shockwaves throughout him. A loud sizzling sound echoed as the Shredder screamed in absolute agony, as his knees buckled, he began to stagger in every direction possible before he thumped to the ground.

"He's finished, isn't he?" asked Adrenaline, despite her enhanced powers, the Shredder had kept up with her, but the Shredder rose to his feet, angrier than ever, as he picked up one of the swords and swung it briefly.

"That would be no," said Nega-Harry as he bounced around, before he picked up a sword and they clashed together. Sparks flew in every which direction, as they both pushed backwards, before the Shredder broke the sword and then grabbed Nega-Harry, but he dodged a punch and leapt up, before he struck the Shredder right in the face with both feet. The Shredder dented a cinderblock wall behind him. However, like it was nothing, he bounced up and knocked Nega-Harry down to the ground. The Dark Emperor bounced up, before he picked up a laser blaster and began shooting it at the Shredder.

The attacks bounced off the Shredder but the dangerous warrior continued to move forward, until Nega-Harry decided that the best tactic would be to slam the blaster into his opponent's chest. That only staggered the ninja as he nearly dropped to the ground. Another slam of the blaster and Nega-Harry had backed the Shredder off by a few inches, but the Shredder grabbed Nega-Harry, before he flipped him to the ground. Nega-Harry was thrown viciously through the wall, before he landed with a thud, several of his ribs cracked.

"As if you could defeat me when others have failed," countered the Shredder and Adrenaline rushed forward, out of concern but a diabolical grin appeared on the Shredder's face underneath his helmet, before he stepped forward. He raised his arms and a loud thump knocked Adrenaline down to the ground. Adrenaline fell down, knocked unconscious, as the Shredder draped her over his shoulder, before he sliced Khan free. "Let us depart Khan, Bishop's commandos will be arriving momentarily, I can here the helicopters coming as we speak."

"Why bring her, though?" asked Khan.

"Yours is not to question Khan, but yours is to do as say," grunted the Shredder viciously and Khan nodded fearfully. "Now come with me, we have little time to depart."

-

Bishop arrived, seeing the slaughtered bodies of Techno-Mages and ninjas, as he walked inside the factory, commandos walking forward. There appeared to be no hint of the intruders other than that, until they reached a body stirring in a pile of rubble.

"Go, see what this is about," commanded Bishop and his commandos moved forward, weapons carefully monitored, as the figure began to pull himself out of the rubble, wincing as he got to his feet, staggering as he tried to get up.

"Agent Bishop, it's…Harry Potter," responded of the commandos in a surprised voice but Nega-Harry got to his feet and Bishop stepped forward, but he frowned when he saw the figure before him was walking on his own accord.

"That's not this dimension's Harry Potter," responded Bishop but Nega-Harry had the presence of mind to kick one of the commandos into the wall and steal his stun gun, before he rushed forward and jammed it into Bishop's abdomen. Bishop was shocked and he fell to the ground, before Nega-Harry rushed forward, alarmed by the fact that his daughter had been taken by the Shredder and Khan. She was important to his plans, as he moved towards one of the helicopters, before he rose up to the ground. The commandos moved outside, firing at him.

"Out of the way," commanded Nega-Harry viciously as he aimed the cannon of the helicopter, before he fired. Several missiles whipped through the air and blew up the ground. Several of the commandos scattered but many were not lucky to get out of the way. They were blown to smithereens as Nega-Harry rose higher in the air, before he pointed the weapons of the helicopter towards those on the ground. He aimed the energy weapon, which cut a path, blowing up all of the helicopters of the commandos, ensuring that it would be rather difficult for them to follow. The Dark Emperor moved forward, turning the helicopter, as he looked down, for any sign of the Shredder.

-

Adrenaline was beginning to show some signs of life, but she was strapped down to a table, She struggled against the straps, but she was bound and gagged. The Shredder turned over, before he looked towards Khan and removed a metallic headband, similar to the technology that Nega-Harry had used to keep his prisoners in a mindless state.

"It is amusing, is it not, that his daughter would be controlled in the same way that the mirror image controlled so many of his hated enemies," responded the Shredder as he moved over, Adrenaline moved over, before he slipped the metallic headband over the girl's head. She squirmed in pain briefly, before she felt her mind go numb and susceptible to commands from the controller of the headband.

"Master, if I may be so bold as to say, why not kill her?" asked Khan. "Surely by keeping her here, we may only draw attention and she could break the spell that you have over her. The Super Enhancer is powerful enough that it would override any controls that you have."

"Do not think that I have not anticipated this Khan and have planned for it," responded the Shredder, as he looked at his lead and pretty much only remaining Techno-Mage. "She will be my puppet but this is just the beginning of a grand plan. I have made a pact with someone powerful and the universe will burn and reshaped. I will rule over my hated enemies the Utroms, as it should have been all those years previously. Still, since you seem so eager to see someone perish, I believe I can oblige by doing so. Unfortunately for you, you will not be able to see the aftermath."

Suddenly, the razor sharp gauntlet of the Shredder plunged right into Khan's throat. Khan slumped to the ground, eyes rolling into the back of his head, as he was dead. The Shredder turned over, before he approached a screen. A picture appeared on the screen as he turned to address it.

"Everything is going according to our plans," responded the Shredder roughly.

"Excellent, prepare for the next stage of our operation," said the voice from the other end of the communication link and the Shredder watched, as his puppet stared back at him, with blank vapid eyes. Everything was going according to their plans.

-

Three teenagers moved towards the Earth Protection Force building, one of them cackling madly.

"Right Speedball, take out those guards and don't screw up this time," ordered Shockwave and Speedball gave her a mock salute, before he tucked his head and rolled forward. The guards were caught off guard, by a blur rolling at them at the speed of light. They thumped to the ground one by one, dropping from the impact. Slam rushed forward and he slammed his hands into the wall, putting a large hole into the side of the Earth Protection Force building. Shockwave motioned for her two fellow X-Raiders to move through, before they walked down the hallways. She pressed her hand on the control box and it began to vibrate, before it short circuited the laser grid in the hallway. "Everyone move quickly, we don't have much time until the second wave of commandos come here."

"But we can take them," argued Speedball and Shockwave just raised her hand, before they moved forward, down the hallway.

"According to the plans, the cells should be right around here but I don't see them," said Speedball. "Master Doomquest will not be pleased if we don't find them."

Slam grunted, before he pointed forward and Shockwave raised her hand, before it vibrated. The energy particles parted and it revealed there was a holographic image.

"Clever, but not good enough to keep us out of here and from taking what is ours," responded Shockwave as she clapped her hands and the energy particles began to vibrate once again, before they parted, leaving an opening that allowed them to slip inside. They saw Master Magic trapped in his cell, in a tank lined with platinum, unable to move. "Slam, break down the door, we'll take the tank with us, that's all we need."

Slam grunted before he lifted his hands and pried the bars from the hinges. The door crashed down to the ground and Slam walked over. He hoisted up the tank as the alarms went off. Speedball looked over, as several commandos walked down the hallway. He clenched his fists, before several fireballs appeared and they shot at the commandos at the speed of light. The commandos shrieked as their hands were burned to an absolute crisp. The trio of X-Raiders moved forward, before they took the tank containing the trapped form of Master Magic.

"Master, we have what we have came for," answered Shockwave in a triumphant voice as if she was pleased with herself.

"Excellent, you have done well, my children, walk inside the hallway to your right and a doorway will be opened for you to take the package to your next location," responded Doomquest in a thrilled voice and the three X-Raiders moved forward, package in hand, as they entered the portal that had opened. More commandos moved forward, but once they had reached the area, it was like the three intruders had never been there to begin with.

-

The Shredder nodded, a pleased look on his face, as the tank containing perhaps one of the most powerful weapons that he could have envisioned was delivered before him. Stepping forward, the Shredder lifted his gauntlets before he rammed them into the side of the tank, springing it open. It rattled for a moment as he had anticipated and the form of Luther Malfoy, alias Master Magic, rose out of the tank. It took a few seconds to register that he was free, but when he did, he was pleased.

"They thought they could keep me locked there forever, but once again, I've escaped," answered Master Magic but his eyes focused on the sight of the Shredder. Needless to say, he was taking aback. "The Shredder! And what do I owe this unexpected pleasure, sir."

"Malfoy, we have had our encounters in years previous but I see your new gifts would be something that would allow us to achieve goals that would be to both of our benefits," responded the Shredder. "Weeks previously, I had a battle with the Shadow Phantom and I intended to use my resources to take control of this pitiful planet. Much to my irritation, she managed to defeat me and shut down my operations, temporarily. I understand you have had your own problems with not only the Shadow Phantom but also other individuals as well."

"I would have defeated her during our last encounter had those reptiles not gotten in the way," responded Master Magic and the Shredder was just responded with a cold high laugh.

"The Turtles are not of my concern, in fact they will perish soon enough, as will Harry Potter, they all will suffer," responded the Shredder as he stepped backwards, before he revealed the form of Adrenaline standing there.

"That's the daughter of that mirror image of Potter, why did you bring her here?" demanded Master Magic. "She's not loyal to you, in fact she was an impudent little brat that was only out for herself. She was another driving reason that we failed to take down the Shadow Phantom and…"

"Enough, Malfoy, you think that I have not accounted for every variable, I have overridden her free will and now she is a puppet, free for me to take advantage of in any way I choose," responded the Shredder viciously as he looked at Master Magic, who despite his great powers, was a bit intimidated by the Shredder. "And take advantage of her I should, perhaps a demonstration will convince you of my control."

The Shredder raised his hands and six stuffed dummies that resembled the four Turtles, Harry and Ginny Potter appeared. He beckoned for Adrenaline to move forward, who did, looking like an absolute zombie. A sword appeared in Adrenaline's hand as she stood there, having no will other than to serve her controller.

"Destroy them, my puppet," responded the Shredder as he pointed to the dummies and Adrenaline moved forward, before she hacked and slashed at the dummies with absolute precision. Stuffing flew in every which direction and they were ripped into shreds. Master Magic just looked at the expert precision she worked the sword was and he was impressed beyond his will. Still, in the back of his mind, he knew there was a difference between destroying dummies and actually destroying warriors. "I believe that is just a small demonstration, when my enemies step in her way, they will be annihilated."

"What of the Shadow Phantom?" asked Master Magic, who was hopeful for one more crack at the annoying vigilante.

"A threat that I shall deal with personally," responded the Shredder coldly but then he looked at Master Magic. "I assume you are wondering what role you will play in my plans, considering that I bothered to break you out."

"Yes, that thought did occur to me," responded Master Magic, who braced himself. The Shredder tended to be a crafty individual, who escaped his death many times before and he was not about to try anything without having a pretty concrete idea what his plans were. "Why did you bother to break me out in the first place?"

"As I said, you could be a use to me, I have a plan to break this entire city and soon the world to its knees, including methods to amplify your powers beyond your wildest dreams," responded the Shredder.

"I can bring entire armies to their knees already," argued Master Magic as he raised his hands into the air, magic swirling around them. "I believe that this talk of greater power is nothing but an attempt to use me as a weapon to achieve your own aims. Luther Malfoy is no one's puppet and unlike the girl, you'll find me rather hard to control and contain."

Luther Malfoy blasted a bolt of solid white magical energy at the Shredder. It whizzed through the air at the speed of light but the Shredder put up his gauntlets, blocking the attack. The magic was absorbed by the gauntlets and shot back right towards Master Magic. He screamed as he was tortured by his own powers, as he thumped to the ground, phasing into a more corporeal form for a few brief seconds.

"As you can see, my gauntlets repel any kind of energy, including magic, a gift from my new partner in this entire operation," responded the Shredder viciously as he walked towards Master Magic, who still felt like he in a never ending pain curse loop. "Let me make one thing perfectly clear, I can make this worth your while or I can force you to comply with the plans, with you getting nothing in return other than your own doom. It is your choice to make."

Master Magic forced himself to look at the Shredder, hatred etched in his eyes. He saw the form of Adrenaline, who looked like the lights were on but no one was home at all. The Shredder looked back at Master Magic, who realized that no matter what, even he could not take down the Shredder.

"I believe we have reached an agreement now," concluded the Shredder and Master Magic looked at him, before he responded with a calm nod. It was apparent now more than ever that he had no choice.

"What is it you wish for me to do?" asked Master Magic and the Shredder opened his mouth, before he began to explain his plan to Master Magic and what role the being of pure magical energy had to play.

-

"The security tapes had been scanned, it's the Shredder," responded one of the commandos as Bishop and Stockman looked on.

"Returned again!" said Stockman in a horrified voice. "He just doesn't know when to stay dead, I knew it!

"Yes, I do wonder why the Shredder was breaking into that particular building, there is nothing of value in there, and he does not seem like the simple motive for revenge," responded Bishop as he racked his brains for any answer. "Then again, perhaps it is something that we are overlooking, and the fact he kidnapped Adrenaline, instead of killing her when he head the opportunity. It amounts to all kinds of problems that are not properly adding up."

A bleeping sound appeared on the console and Bishop moved over to answer it.

"Yes, Master Magic has been broken out of the Earth Protection Force facility," responded Bishop as he grew grave. "Just Master Magic, no one else, and those three teenagers that were working for that Doomquest individual, they were the one's who did it. Very interesting and highly disturbing."

"Who is this Doomquest?" asked Stockman in a confused voice.

"I don't know, I scanned the records and what intergalactic databases I could access from alien craft left on Earth, nothing about him at all," answered Agent Bishop in a perplexed voice. "Normally I would have had the answers but this time, we're going to have to go on as little information as possible. One thing is for certain, the Earth as we know it, might be doomed."

-

Nega-Harry arrived at one of his hideouts, he had scanned the city but no sign of his daughter anywhere. He was worried, most of his warriors had been murdered and he had no backup. His failures just continued and he thought of his enemies. Those Turtles, the Shadow Phantom, his mirror duplicate and his wife, and now the Shredder, all of them had been present thorns in his side. Insects that he wanted to crush but somehow had continued to be a thorn in his plans.

He sank down on the chair, his plans were lofty, until the Shredder showed up. He had been used to being in control but once that control was removed, he was pretty much as helpless as the next person. He might even be more helpless than the next person. Still, if his plans would go according to plan, he needed her back and he needed to find a way to eliminate his enemies, this time for good. His error last time was relying on super powered thugs to do his dirty work but at least he could reason that was a diversion.

"The Dark Emperor, I sense your frustration and I come here with an opportunity for you to achieve the revenge you seek on the enemies," said a voice and Nega-Harry bounced up, wand withdrawn.

"Who's there?" demanded Nega-Harry. "Show yourself, you say you come here to help me but I don't believe you and I don't trust anything that I cannot see."

"Fair enough," said the voice and a figure appeared, to reveal a large black skinned figure, with razor sharp claws and a purple face, with demonic red eyes appearing in front of the Dark Emperor. "My name is Doomquest, I'm the ruler of a master race of beings throughout the universe and I am here to offer you the gift of ultimate power."

"Ultimate power?" asked Nega-Harry in a skeptical voice. "Clarify ultimate power."

"The ability to reshape reality with your mind, the ability to not feel any pain, invulnerable to any and all magical assaults," responded Doomquest in a calm voice. "You wish to take out your enemies, but you don't have the means. You will have no problems creating armies, because you can do so by the sheer voice of your mind."

"Intriguing, but what do I have to do for this ultimate power?" asked Nega-Harry, whose obsession for defeating his mirror counterpart had reached unhealthy heights. Not to mention that he could finally take down the Shredder.

"Take my hand," said Doomquest simply, with the slightest hint of a twisted smile, and Nega-Harry reached out his hand, where the entity grabbed it. Purple ooze seeped from Doomquest's hand and absorbed into Nega-Harry. He looked up and felt power beyond all imagining tingling throughout every inch of his power. He held his wand, feeling the magic flowing throughout his body and pointed it at a metal door moving towards the next room. A blasting spell reduced the door to absolutely nothing. "I trust your satisfied."

"I am," responded Nega-Harry as he looked forward, he prepared to eliminate all of his enemies one by one, and then he could reshape this world into his own image, just like he did to his own dimension.

**So yeah, three more chapters of Book One of the Heir of the Warrior Series. Not looking too promising for a second book but never say never at this point. Then I've got to wrap up Two Paths, One Destiny, I say I can get about four or five more chapters out of that one before it's time to take her home. Then Heart of the Warrior Forever(oh yes, three guess who the alternate universe version of Harry based in the Old Toon TMNT universe is. **coughs**A Twisted Timeline**coughs**) and then the super secret project that I plan on kicking off by the end of the year. So hopefully lots of stuff coming up. **


End file.
